The Wave

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Half a century ago, life in Northern Ireland took a sinister new normal.

The terrible rhythm of killings and maimings lasted three decades, with The Conflict largely ends in the late 1990s.

away, But during the worst of the problems, the can more with each passing year, The Legacy of Trauma is very up to date.

Denise Mullan is one of the thousands of People who live with him.

her father Denis was loyalists shot dead at her family home near Moy, County Tyrone , in 1975.

Many of those with Mental Health problems today, the children were during The Troubles

she was four years old, but she describes her memories in detail.

she remembers the sound of bullets that threw The Gunmen into the house before she is attacked, "slips off The Wall ".

Denis Mullan's wife, son and daughter Denise, who were close to him when he was killed in 1975

she remembers her mother, who was also shot A Number of times, "going out through The Kitchen window."

she went to look in on her Younger Brother who was 13 months old, in his cradle.

Then she went back to her father and remained with him, you know, two hours.

"My dress was covered in his blood," she says.

'Feel like you were beaten,'

A form of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) means that a certain smell reminds you of The Night your father was murdered, and that Brings back memories, suddenly and terribly.

"I can't describe exactly how it is," she says.

"But whenever that smell comes Over Me , I'll take the shakes. My legs are weak. My head is empty.

"It can happen within a few seconds or minutes. But for the rest of The Day , you have the feeling you was black and Blue beaten. "

Denise Mullan was four years old when she witnesses the murder of her father

PTSD affects different People in different ways.

have found the researchers, the condition is particularly common in Northern Ireland .

A study by the University of Ulster in 2011 found the 8. 8% of People had met the criteria for PTSD at some point.

scientists said that was the rate in other post-conflict societies.

Siobhan O'neill, who is professor of Mental Health sciences at the University, says: "The difference here is that the People here are offered support and services.

"We had no screen for PTSD, so there are a lot of hidden post-traumatic stress disorder. "

the Other figures, you and your fellow researchers published, are equally sobering.

PacemakerThe issues and Trauma

39% of People experiencing a traumatic event

14% have a mental illness

9%have symptoms of PTSD.

source: University of Ulster

Prof O'neill, contributes to a high suicide rate: "Our male rate is twice as high as in England. "

she also points out that, despite the fact that the prevalence of mental illness is highest in the UK, the funding for Mental Health is lower in comparison with other regions.

"It is only relatively recently we have realized the Mental Health needs of the population," she says.

"in five or 10 years, the People had not really come forward and ask for help.

"But there was a huge change in that.

"People ask for help, and we are looking for the services that have to contend with the demand, because of the lack of investment in this area. "

'Poured us some shots and sent us'

Mental Health has become a much more public issue since The Height of The Conflict .

Denise Mullan recalls that the People "heard advice in the 1970s and 1980S ".

Many People with "hidden post-traumatic stress disorder," says Prof Siobhan O'neill

of the Many thousands Of People who witnessed horrific scenes, the members of the rescue services were particularly affected.

the Retired firefighter Bob Pollock tells us that, after he and some colleagues were caught in a bomb attack in the early 1970s, a senior officer "poured a drink, then said: 'go you way. '"

Such stories are common among those who were at the Front, the reaction to tragedies.

Bob says he is grateful he didn't suffer, great psychological stress as a result of his experiences.

However, he is aware that his generation can only have begun to consider their long-term Mental Health after retirement.

"Post-traumatic stress can come in Many years down The Line - People can suppress," he says.

"If you happened to be in The Job , you have other things.

"But if you come from The Job that you have time to think about things such as: 'Was I really so close?'"

As a firefighter, Bob Pollock dealt with Many of the significant events in The Troubles

As the awareness for Mental Health has increased, and problems that once were taboo are all the rage, Many from the generation that lived through the problems in seeking help for the First Time .

Alan McBride, co-ordinator of The Wave Trauma Centre, says, problems, anniversaries tend to bring to ask for an influx of People to help.

"We never really escape our problems here," he says.

"Toxic environment for children"

Alan, whose wife Sharon was one of nine civilians killed in The Ira Shankill bombing in 1993, has "No Doubt " that People in certain areas of high deprivation will make you feel "Left Behind ", of The Peace process, and particularly the feeling that The Legacy of Mental Health problems.

"In Northern Ireland , there is a lack of consultants and a lack of resources," he says.

"The waiting list in wave four months. "

experts are increasingly concerned that Young People who were not even born when The Conflict was going on, now the effect of to feel, the so-called "trans-generational Trauma ".

Alan McBride's wife Sharon was one of the 10 People who died when an IRA bomb exploded in Belfast's Shankill Road

Prof O'neill explains: "children have parents with Mental Health problems are more likely to have Mental Health problems themselves.

"It's also about The Legacy of The Conflict in some communities.

"It's the unemployment, drug use and low educational level.

"All of these things can come together to create an environment that is toxic for a child. "

she believes there is a greater emphasis on the financing of measures for the prevention of mental illness must.

"we know that if We can intervene early, we can prevent long-term damage to the health of children and opportunities in life as they grow into adulthood. "

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The worst years of unrest are receding further into The Past , but the impact that The Conflict is still very present.

Denise Mullan began to go, the advice in the last year, she says, after her mother "hit The Wall " as a result of the Trauma they suffered.

she said: "There are Many weeks when it hurts me to go.

"But I don't know that I can beat with him, because in 20 or 30 years, I would like to The Wall . "

she believes the Mental Health consequences of the problems that need to be addressed, for the sake of The Future .

"as in North Ireland will go on.

"There are so Many victims Out There , the help and understanding of need. "

mental health, ptsd, the troubles

Source of news: bbc.com