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Colleague depressed over violent army days

LegacyUser · 2013-10-10 21:11:14

Hi there, a member on a neighboring team in my workplace from another country who is living in Ireland has been on sick leave the past 2 weeks due to depression/anxiety. He was always a bit of a mystery to us as he seemed an all-round together guy but you could tell he had issues from the way he talks. So I have been…

10-10-2013 09:11PM

#1

LegacyUser

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Hi there, a member on a neighboring team in my workplace from another country who is living in Ireland has been on sick leave the past 2 weeks due to depression/anxiety. He was always a bit of a mystery to us as he seemed an all-round together guy but you could tell he had issues from the way he talks.

So I have been keeping in touch with him regularly because we were good friends, we were always out talking in the smoking area etc, so I was ringing him to see how he was getting on. I have spoken to him 3 times in the last 2 weeks and 2 out of those 3 times he was upset.

He's on medicine but I know from another colleague he has been mixing this medicine with alcohol, as they saw him at the garage getting vodka a few nights ago and he was off his face at the time.

Tonight he rang me and he was crying his eyes out saying his past was getting at him again and again, talking over his days in the special forces in his country and he said he will understand if I never want to talk to him again after he tells me. He said he was made do things he didn't agree with and then he said something that scared me (which on account of him being off his head on drink and mixing it with the depression/anxiety medicine I don't know if it's true or not but it scared me). He said he killed someone.

I didn't know what to say so I asked him was he in uniform when it happened and he said he was. And then I asked him how he laughed and said that's the funniest question ever. And then I told him to get some rest and perhaps speak to a counsellor, and that I could get him an appointment somewhere to talk about this with someone in confidence.

I am a bit freaked out and I don't know what to do. I don't want to cut all contact with him because I don't know how he would react to that. I asked him when he was back at work and then he said he was going to sleep. He was crying inconsolably the entire time he was on the phone. I didn't know what to do.

Now I don't know who to turn to about this. Could anyone please advise me? I think i'm going to contact a counsellor myself as I am very very freaked out about what I just heard.

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#2 13-10-2013 11:26AM

Ickle Magoo

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Posts: 16205

There's a list of links HERE you may find useful. Both for yourself and to pass on to your colleague.

All the best

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