Veterans: Bid to raise awareness of effects of war.

The latest online craze is a physical test that is raising awareness of the effects of war.

Having soaked ourselves in freezing water for charity a couple of years ago, the challenge for 2016 is to stretch our muscles to the limit and consider the daily struggles facing former and serving members of the armed forces.

The latest internet craze asks participants to film themselves doing 22 press-ups every day for 22 days.

Billed as “the new ice bucket challenge”, the #22PushUpChallenge was launched by an army veteran in Michigan, USA, as a way to get people talking about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

It was set up in response to a US Department of Veteran Affairs report in 2013 which revealed an average of 22 veterans were taking their own lives every day in the country.

The online campaign has spread like wildfire since the turn of the year and now people from Denver to Dundee and California to Cupar are getting fit while drawing attention to the problem of PTSD among veterans worldwide.

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Participants start their video with an introduction then record themselves doing push-ups before posting it to social media with the 22 push up hashtag.

With every posting, a nomination should be made for another friend to get involved.

The idea borrows from the phenomenally successful ice bucket challenge, which started out as a means of promoting awareness of the condition amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in the US in 2014, before sweeping the world. Many people in the UK used it to spread the word about the Motor Neurone Disease Association and thousands of pounds were raised for a variety of other charities.

The Push-up Challenge is also being supported by British veterans’ charities, which have also reported a spike in reports of PTSD, including younger veterans.

It’s a cause close to the heart of St Andrews man Graham Proctor, a former RAF Leuchars weather forecaster, who, over the past four years, has helped more than 60 traumatised veterans from the UK, Canada, Australia and the USA through golf trips to Scotland organised by his charity St Andrews Legacy.

He has learned PTSD can vary enormously from explosive anger, depression and alcohol abuse to flashbacks which catapult the sufferer back to the feelings they experienced in conflict.

“In recent years the British Army has lost more guys through suicide than they have in combat,” says Graham.

US Army Iraq veteran and PTSD sufferer Eric Scott recently travelled to play golf in St Andrews.

He suffered a traumatic brain injury from an explosion while on patrol and was left with shoulder and knee injuries.

In another incident, one of his good friends was killed after taking his place.

Eric describes his survivor’s guilt as “brutal” and defines PTSD sufferers as “anyone who’s seen something a human being shouldn’t see”.

One former Fife-based Royal Engineer, who served on peacekeeping, war fighting and counter insurgency operations and is still serving with the Army Reserve, welcomed moves to raise awareness of PTSD and improve the lot of sufferers.

He told The Courier: “There is a (Ministry of Defence) system in place but I think it is under strain.

“Some suffer from stress as opposed to PTSD. More knowledge will lead to quicker and correct diagnosis.”

The US report suggested it was mainly older veterans who were at risk – the average age of veterans who take their own lives in the US is 59.6 years old.

Here, many deaths have also been directly linked to recent combat in the Middle East, Falklands and Northern Ireland.

Combat Stress, the UK’s biggest veterans’ mental health charity, is also supporting the #22PushUpChallenge and encouraging people to get involved. Last spring, it reported the number of ex-forces personnel seeking help in the previous 12 months had risen by 26% year-on-year – an increase driven mainly by individuals who fought in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Recent figures suggest nearly 400 British soldiers and veterans committed suicide between 1995 and 2014.

The charity said: “Taking part in the #22PushUpChallenge is a great way to raise awareness of veterans’ mental health and PTSD and at the same time make a donation to charity.

“Increasing numbers of veterans are coming to Combat Stress every year for help with mental health problems. Your donation will help us deliver services and support for these veterans.”