I’ve been very conscious of not letting PTSD rule my life

http://www.3aw.com.au/news/its-like-another-job-victorian-cops-living-with-ptsd-20150914-gjm0hi.html

Sergeant Lamb attended a drug raid in Hawthorn in August of 1990, and was involved in a physical altercation with an offender.

They wrestled over Lamb’s firearm and it discharged, shooting one of his colleagues, Ben Piper, in the chest. Piper was lucky to survive.

“I wasn’t sure it was my gun and opening the revolver and seeing the spent round in my gun, I instantly vomited,” he said.

“The guilt is the thing that hangs around for me every day. I have to consciously think that Ben recovered and is well.”

Following another shooting just months later, Sergeant Lamb was hospitalised for five days after suffering a break down.

He now lectures about post-traumatic stress disorder in the community, and speaks to police recruits about the benefits of seeking counselling.