Western Morning News (Saturday)
Stress-busting surfing eases mental trauma
AFORMER British soldier who served in Afghanistan and in Iraq as a mercenary believes he’s been saved by surfing from completely breaking down after being diagnosed with PTSD.
Ben Gough, like all male members of his family, joined the military at 16 and served for eight years with the Salisbury-based Rifles. After a tour of Afghanistan he joined a private security contractor serving for several years in Iraq.
After leaving the military and relocating back home to Cornwall, he showed signs of suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, but chose to ignore them and carry on. When his marriage broke down and after going through a difficult time last year and feeling totally isolated, he finally realised there was something wrong. He was diagnosed with complex PTSD and decided to seek help.
“When I was in the military PTSD was not something you talked about,” said Ben. “But last year I had a difficult year, going through a divorce. I came back to Cornwall, but the waiting list for therapy was huge. One of my friends got me into surfing and that’s what saved me. It was the calming effect of the environment and being in the sea. I try to get on my board every day when I’m not working. I think it’s really helped me deal with PTSD.”
Now a paramedic, the 30-year-old from Redruth is keen to help others going through their own same mental health difficulties by encouraging them to come along and surf and see if it will help them like it’s helped him.
He said: “Surf therapy is now big for ex-military. When you leave the armed forces you lose that sense of camaraderie which I think you get back when you’re surfing. This is purely a social gathering where I hope to bring people together to help break the stigma of mental health illness and to not only share my experiences surrounding mental health, but to gain further knowledge on the subject as well. In the process I hope to help many people going through their own difficulties.”
Ben has now set up ReOrg Surfing to encourage others, not just ex-military, to come along and share the experience, be in the sea, benefit from cold water immersion, and enjoy the social aspect of it again.
He said the group, which operates out of Gwithian, Godrevy and Newquay beaches, is not just for those who have left the police or the military but is open to anyone who suffers from mental health issues, whether it is depression or addiction.
Ben added: “I named the organisation Re-Org which is a military term. When you come back from a mission you have a sort of debrief where you talk about it.
We call it Re-Org so it’s a reference to that but it’s really aimed at everyone going through a mental health crisis who wants to try something different.” ■ For more visit Ben’s page on Facebook at https://m.facebook.com/ Reorgsurfing/. Ben is also trying to expand the organisation and keep it free as much as possible and buy more equipment through a GoFundMe campaign. at https://www.gofundme. com/f/reorg-surfing