Veterans’ mental health is never a solitary matter; it ripples outwards, affecting families, communities and the wider world. Gone are the days when military trauma was seen as an individual struggle. Recent British research and charities like Veterans In Action (VIA) now highlight how post-traumatic stress and post-traumatic growth shape not only the lives of veterans but also those closest to them.
Military service and its challenges do not end once a veteran leaves the armed forces. Studies from the UK Veterans Family Study reveal elevated rates of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol misuse not just among veterans but also their partners and children. These effects echo through family life: partners may become carers, experience loss of identity, handle financial strain, and even develop their own symptoms of trauma. Adult children of veterans likewise face unique psychological challenges, especially when family breakdown or secrecy surrounding service history complicates matters.
These ripples manifest as isolation, loneliness and difficulty negotiating civilian life. Partners and children often find themselves supporting veterans through challenging transitions, managing practical and emotional burdens, and searching for their own support networks.
Connection, both within families and with the wider community, is central to wellbeing. During service, military families belong to a close network, but after discharge, many struggle to maintain these bonds. The loss of structure, shared purpose and mutual understanding can be hard to replace. When families and communities rally round veterans, research shows they help buffer against poor mental health, foster recovery, and support longer-term growth.
Post-traumatic growth (PTG), first described by psychologists Tedeschi and Calhoun, refers to the positive changes that can follow trauma. This growth is never automatic; support systems are vital, especially social networks that align with the realities of military life. Expert companionship—empathetic, informed support from peers, partners and loved ones—underpins recovery and growth.
VIA’s unique approach brings these principles to life. The charity works not only with veterans but also actively welcomes their families, recognising that recovery is a shared journey. Partners and loved ones are encouraged to become involved in every aspect, from expeditions and projects such as the Veterans Walk and Talk initiative to the forthcoming Partners Project and Veterans In Wilderness Projects.
The welfare team at VIA understands that family welfare is as important as veteran welfare. Partners are supported through their own challenges, drawing on both professional expertise and peer support.
The difference this makes is best expressed in personal experiences. One wife, who wishes to remain anonymous, describes her encounter with VIA:
“At an event, I approached Billy MacLeod from Veterans In Action and told him about my husband, who was suffering from PTSD. Right away, he was invited up to the centre and has become fully involved in the Veterans In Wilderness Project. For me, I’ve been working with the VIA Welfare Team and Kerry Lawrence has been working directly with me. My husband is beginning to improve but it is still early days. For me, Kerry has been a lifeline, and together we are looking to set up the Partners Project.”
Such testimony demonstrates that VIA’s impact extends far beyond direct support for veterans. The charity’s programmes involve both partners and children, ensuring families are empowered to rebuild their own sense of identity and wellbeing. The ALIVE Programme exemplifies how improvement is celebrated at each step, not only for the individual but for the whole family. Veterans rediscover confidence and belonging, while families regain hope and a sense of inclusion.
Participants in VIA activities consistently report the restoration of self-worth, close bonds, new skills and renewed relationships. Common themes emerge: personal strength, new possibilities, appreciation of life, and renewed spiritual connection. These are not just individual wins—families find themselves more stable and resilient, and communities are enriched as veterans re-engage in local life.
“I discovered VIA… got involved in building the vehicles and was given a true sense of belonging again. In combination with therapy and being a member of VIA, I’ve rediscovered myself. VIA is a post-traumatic growth charity and I’ve certainly done that; I’m now back in full-time employment with a family and a future!”
– Stephen Reilly, former Royal Military Police
“Walking and talking with other veterans with similar stories was a great help in understanding how I was feeling. I gained control of my life again… with the help of Veterans In Action, I got back on track and took control. I now own and run my own courier business.”
– Mark Colman, former Royal Engineers
Military trauma is not an inevitable sentence to isolation. Charities like VIA prove the power of collective resilience—veterans, families and communities thriving together. Through accessible support, shared experiences and opportunities to connect, the journey expands from the individual to the family, then to the wider world.
By embracing veterans and their loved ones as individuals with interconnected needs, British society builds genuine pathways from trauma to growth. The ripple effect transforms not just those involved, but everyone around them.
I needed focus I needed something to fill my time, well maybe not fill my time but something to focus on like a target, a needed to get back my drive.
I started to help VIA ‘Veterans In Action’ and found something that I could do, use the old skills that I learnt in the army and more since I left which I did not register I had.
I had been missing that motivation to do something that I wanted to do and gain that level of self-gratification and achievement.
Everybody has a skill set, but it’s the motivation to use it we can lose, VIA have various projects on the go all the time, hopefully I have found my niche to help them and myself to gain personal gratification by being a member of a team again and a job well done.
After discussions I realised that it’s this which advances my mental well-being and my ongoing fight against depression and the feeling of worthlessness.
I have woken up, helping hand in hand with fellow soldiers suffering from labelled disorders finding strength from weakness, realising what helps them generally does helps me, the recognition has been an awakening.”
Ian ‘Chalky’ White former 17th/21st Lancers and B Sqn 22 SAS
Veterans In Action have been filming our expeditions for many years for our YouTube Channel, Veterans Expeditions Overland, and through this experience of not only running the expeditions but also capturing footage that enables veterans who have taken part in a place of reference to recapture how they felt by taking part.
The Veterans In Focus project enables veterans to learn new skills and record not only the expeditions we run but also the day-to-day work on all projects connecting them all together so everyone feels involved in all aspects of the work we do.
VIA take a long-term approach to helping veterans who suffer to enable them to grow within a project working alongside their peers. All this can be achieved within this project which can be ongoing and would allow veterans to learn new skills or to pass on skills learned during their time in the services
Some of the outcomes of the project are a sense of purpose, regaining confidence and working in an environment alongside other veterans where they can instantly feel relaxed, chilled-out, secure, and safe.
Veterans can work at their own pace, stop thinking negatively, concentrate, learn new skills, be part of building something, and most importantly where problems are understood this will positively impact mood and stress levels.
For those involved in the project, they can also get involved on an expedition HERE
I became involved with VIA in 2010 after my life took a turn for the worse and was invited along to do some fundraising with them. This helped me no end and in time my life got back on track. I completed a Union Flag Walk with them from Cape Wrath to Land’s End which again helped as walking and talking with other veterans with similar stories was a great help in understanding how I was feeling. I gained control of my life again.
In 2019, I took part in an overland expedition travelling through the Spanish Pyrenees and whilst away my life took a turn for the worse again due to family problems back in the UK. On my return I had to start again and rebuild and focus on the future and with the help of Veterans In Action I got back on track and took control.
I now own and run my own courier business.
Mark Colman former Royal Engineers
To date, we have travelled 25,000 miles travelling through 30 different countries and some of them several times both on overland expeditions for humanitarian aid through the pandemic and more recently supplying medical humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
It is important to note that to take part in one of our overland expeditions we insist that veterans get involved in the BUILD IT part of the project. The reason for this is part of the Post Traumatic Growth process which is our method for helping veterans so that veterans can grow within a team of their peers, learning new skills and relearning old skill sets that may have been forgotten after service.
Leading up to an expedition involves expedition training which will include off-road driving, navigation, camp setups, camp cooking and daily maintenance, something most veterans will understand from their time in the services.
It would be unfair for any individual to turn up on the day of an expedition who hadn’t previously been involved as everyone else would have been working together over a long period of time so due to the very nature of the mental health problems of those we take out on expedition turning up on day 1 for any individual could become very difficult to find where they fit in no matter how welcoming everyone was.
It is the involvement long-term on building the vehicles that enable veterans to grow that gets them to a place where they fully enjoy all aspects of the expedition experience starting from the minute that an overland expedition sets off.