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PTSD: Suffolk soldier says nature stopped 'downward spiral'

Mike Liggins/BBC Craig WelshMike Liggins/BBC
Craig Welsh said he became a "couch potato" and lost all motivation when he left the military

A former soldier in recovery from complex post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) said nature became his saviour.

Craig Welsh, 29, of Ixworth near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, served with the RAF Regiment as a sniper for six years, completing two tours of Afghanistan.

After leaving the military, his mental health suffered, compounded by one of his patrol taking his own life.

He said discovering wild camping and bushcraft helped him turn his life around.

Speaking of his time after the military, Mr Welsh said: "I went into a downward spiral... I was drinking too much, partying too much, anything to escape the world."

Craig Welsh Craig Welsh with scopeCraig Welsh
Craig Welsh said much of his work in Afghanistan was attached to the US Marines

He described his tours as "heavy going" and said it "sucked it out of me".

"I had no motivation; I stopped doing all the things I liked to do," he added.

"I was quite aggressive. Not physically, but I was always looking to get a rise out of people."

Craig Welsh Craig Welsh pictured sticking his tongue out and wearing combat uniformCraig Welsh
Craig Welsh served with the RAF Regiment as a sniper for six years

His concerned father put him on to the charity Veterans at Ease, which supports veterans with PTSD, and he received a diagnosis and counselling.

He also found that wild camping and bushcraft - learning the skills to survive in the wild - struck a chord with him.

"I am much better and it's all thanks to nature and being outdoors," added Mr Welsh, who now works as an electrical maintenance engineer.

"I'm trying to spread the positivity and encourage other people to come out and enjoy it, because it can do wonders for mental health.

Mike Liggins/BBC Craig Welsh and bonfire at makeshift campMike Liggins/BBC
Craig Welsh said he tried to go wild camping at least once a week

"In Japan it's called shinrin-yoku, which translates to 'forest bathing', and it's actually prescribed by doctors there."

He is now using his love of the outdoors to give something back to the charity that helped him, by completing a 200-mile (322km) fundraising trek.

He hopes to cover about 17 miles each day, over 12 days, and wild camp each night.

On Monday he will set off from Knettishall Heath, near Thetford, and will take in the Peddars Way, the Norfolk Coast Path and Suffolk Coast Path.

"I will be finding a bit of woodland or beach, somewhere to set my tarp up, bed down, and then set off again the next day," he said.

"To be out in nature for 12 days - it's massive to me, I can't wait for it."

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