‘I understand why people take their lives I can see why things get too much and people see no other route out, BECAUSE I’VE BEEN THERE
Hear the full podcast interview by following the link below…
It was fascinating to meet Darren Clark, a man who despite having done one of the most macho jobs in the world is still prepared to admit to his frailties.
At 19 Darren signed up to be a Royal Marine Commando and spent 11 years in the service of Queen and country. All he’d ever wanted to be was a soldier and when he started seriously researching his option he realised he wanted to be one of the elite.
Like his comrades – his brothers – he doesn’t regret his life in the military but he is concerned by the numbers of ex-servicemen who not only struggle with their mental health in civvy street but who actually end up taking their lives.
In September Darren and a former colleague are taking on a 24 hour challenge along Bexhill seafront to raise money for an organisation called CALM, the Campaign Against Living Miserably you can dontae by following this link…
https://www.justgiving.com/page/spearhead-fitness-4?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL
Earlier this year Darren, who says he has in the past considered taking his life, carried the coffin of a close friend, he says it gave him a ‘kick up the bum’ to realise he never wants to put his nearest and dearest in that situation.
He believes the military should do more to prepare our servicemen for life outside the services. On the day you leave, handing in your identity card is like handing in your very identity says Darren and when the camp gates clatter shut behind you, you face a world that is alien to you, where your support mechanisms have been taken away and nothing has been put in their place where you are quite literally on your own in a world that feels ‘not normal’.
I hope you find listening to Darren’s interview as fasinating as I found talking to him and we’ll catch up with him later in the year to find out how successful his fundraising has been.
Hear the full podcast interview by following the link below…
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