{"id":289759,"date":"2023-09-06T14:19:15","date_gmt":"2023-09-06T14:19:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/?p=289759"},"modified":"2023-09-06T14:19:15","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T14:19:15","slug":"anxiety-injury-and-ptsd-nearly-destroyed-brooke-invictus-saved-her","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/athletics\/anxiety-injury-and-ptsd-nearly-destroyed-brooke-invictus-saved-her\/","title":{"rendered":"Anxiety, injury and PTSD nearly destroyed Brooke. Invictus saved her"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span>By <\/span><span><span><span>Nick Wright<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Save articles for later<\/h3>\n<p>Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.<\/p>\n<p>It took more than three months for Brooke Mead to fight through a gym session without breaking down in tears.<\/p>\n<p>Panic attacks would set in, anxiety would cripple her.<\/p>\n<p>The aftermath of her military service, and the trauma and physical anguish that came with that, proved overwhelming.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/static.ffx.io\/images\/$zoom_0.394%2C$multiply_0.7725%2C$ratio_1.5%2C$width_756%2C$x_0%2C$y_0\/t_crop_custom\/q_86%2Cf_auto\/d4f3539f22805db2b0ad88f433e6fc76698f7b07\" height=\"390\" width=\"584\"><\/p>\n<p><span>Brooke Mead \u2013 and inset with husband David \u2013 has overcome a daunting personal battle to reach the Invictus Games.<\/span><cite class=\"\"><span>Credit: <\/span>JC Media<\/cite><\/p>\n<p>Upon hitting rock bottom, she admits she \u201cdidn\u2019t want to live any more\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Yet here Mead stands, eagerly awaiting her first Invictus Games, reflecting on the journey back from the brink that saved her life.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was discharged when I was 22, and the navy was all I ever wanted to do in life,\u201d Mead said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was my only aspiration, so for that to be taken away at such a young age, I just fell into depression, and I didn\u2019t have much support.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had my husband, who was medically discharged after me, but apart from that, I didn\u2019t have a friendship group.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you leave the service, you\u2019re all alone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mead joined the navy as a 17-year-old. Shortly after, she was thrust into the thick of Operation Resolute, which prevents unauthorised entry to Australian territory.<\/p>\n<p>As a patrol boat sailor, her daily life featured body recovery missions and \u201cgenerally not nice work\u201d.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/static.ffx.io\/images\/$zoom_1.77%2C$multiply_0.7725%2C$ratio_1.5%2C$width_756%2C$x_0%2C$y_315\/t_crop_custom\/q_86%2Cf_auto\/2b88b2ca0bb10bca09746c2cc773e9a4b5577f90\" height=\"390\" width=\"584\"><\/p>\n<p><span>Brooke Mead will compete in indoor rowing as one of her Invictus Games events.<\/span><cite class=\"\"><span>Credit: <\/span>JC Media<\/cite><\/p>\n<p>But on the ship, Mead was part of something \u2013 a brother and sisterhood that bonded each member.<\/p>\n<p>Medically discharged with a spinal cord injury, PTSD, depression and anxiety, Mead\u2019s transition away from service proved so confronting, it nearly cost her life.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI guess the first five years [since my discharge], I was very in and out of mental health hospitals. I had surgeries all over my body, so it was spent just trying to save my life,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere were a lot of times I didn\u2019t want to be alive any more.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was obese, I was 120 kilograms, and everything was too difficult. My spinal cord injury was debilitating, and I just kept getting darker and darker in my head and thoughts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mead\u2019s turning point came suddenly. Waking up one morning, something ignited in her \u2013 she needed to change.<\/p>\n<p>That catalyst led her to the Invictus Games, a safe haven for wounded veterans and a competitive outlet founded by Prince Harry to unite the community.<\/p>\n<p>The now 30-year-old Mead applied, then joined the gym straight away, first getting involved with CrossFit before broadening her horizons.<\/p>\n<p>For the Games in Germany, beginning on September 9 in Dusseldorf, she will compete in powerlifting, indoor rowing, and table tennis \u2013 the latter of which she first tried just two months ago when she was forced to withdraw from swimming due to a recent knee reconstruction.<\/p>\n<p>Mead has come to appreciate that the Games represent more than a medal. The role that even her preparation has had on her wellbeing is a victory in itself.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/static.ffx.io\/images\/$zoom_1.77%2C$multiply_0.7725%2C$ratio_1.5%2C$width_756%2C$x_0%2C$y_154\/t_crop_custom\/q_86%2Cf_auto\/bd685bad4e93dffa5fb8268d18d0d5c69107ebcd\" height=\"390\" width=\"584\"><\/p>\n<p><span>Brooke Mead reflects on her time in the military and her journey to the Invictus Games.<\/span><cite class=\"\"><span>Credit: <\/span>JC Media<\/cite><\/p>\n<p>But the Brisbane athlete, mother and veteran has always been competitive. Accolades are firmly in her sights.<\/p>\n<p>Early in her spinal cord recovery, she was told she would never lift more than 10 kilograms off the ground. Now she\u2019s adamant she has a genuine chance of reaching the powerlifting podium.<\/p>\n<p>While enduring recent setbacks \u2013 her knee injury preventing her from even walking up stairs for several days, as well as suffering shoulder tears while snowboarding \u2013 Mead is sure she has overcome enough to possibly make an impression at the Invictus Games.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think I\u2019d always been waiting for that one day when I woke up and it would shift \u2013 and it did,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just woke up and thought, \u2018I need to change my life\u2019. I put in my [Invictus Games] application and have lost 50 kilograms since May 2021. And I had my spinal cord stimulant removed, which is pretty rare to have done.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI joined the gym on the same day, and it took me three or four months &#8230; to finally last a full session without crying or having an anxiety attack.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/static.ffx.io\/images\/$zoom_1.77%2C$multiply_0.7725%2C$ratio_1.5%2C$width_756%2C$x_0%2C$y_406\/t_crop_custom\/q_86%2Cf_auto\/24b03442a6fd6546a7b302c9c3cb9a024c37ce0e\" height=\"390\" width=\"584\"><\/p>\n<p><span>Brooke Mead will compete in powerlifting at the Invictus Games.<\/span><cite class=\"\"><span>Credit: <\/span>JC Media<\/cite><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt took me two weeks to get out of the car alone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m an incredibly competitive person \u2013 I have been my entire life \u2013 so it\u2019s been hard to switch that off and realise the journey is about bettering myself.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut I want to win \u2026 I\u2019m excited and overwhelmed, and really proud of how far I\u2019ve come and what I\u2019ve achieved in the journey.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInvictus is more about the journey than the performance on the day \u2013 I\u2019ve overcome so much to get this far.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mead\u2019s recovery remains a constant journey, one that will continue after the curtain draws on the Games.<\/p>\n<p>She and her family \u2013 husband David and a young son \u2013 will take a year-long trip around the world in a bid to earn back the years she felt were lost due to her struggles.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe lost so many years to my depression, time in mental health hospitals, and surgeries and injuries,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want that time back, I want to spend it with my son and husband, so we\u2019re going to do something crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mead\u2019s battle upon being discharged from military duty has been one shared by many veterans, sparking a federal government declaration that changes are afoot.<\/p>\n<p>In late August, Minister for Veterans\u2019 Affairs and Defence Personnel Matt Keogh announced the Veteran Transition Strategy, which will aim to better support exiting servicemen and women, and their families.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to initiatives already in place \u2013 including skills recognition programs, rent-allowance leeway, and access to health support \u2013 the strategy will strive to provide employment and education pathways, financial literacy, and pre-emptive preparation for transition.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/static.ffx.io\/images\/$zoom_1.77%2C$multiply_0.7725%2C$ratio_1.5%2C$width_756%2C$x_0%2C$y_162\/t_crop_custom\/q_86%2Cf_auto\/a6b6b4a348080586839f9745a281650dae8221e3\" height=\"390\" width=\"584\"><\/p>\n<p><span>Brooke Mead and husband David (pictured) will travel the world with their son following the Invictus Games.<\/span><cite class=\"\"><span>Credit: <\/span>JC Media<\/cite><\/p>\n<p>The strategy will continue to evolve and will respond to the findings and recommendations of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide\u2019s final report, expected to be released mid-next year.<\/p>\n<p>Mead said when she left the navy, she felt largely unsupported, finding her own way to outlets such as Survive to Thrive Nation to help with her recovery.<\/p>\n<p>Sport will remain an active part of her life, and she\u2019s determined to return to Brisbane Table Tennis after her overseas adventures.<\/p>\n<p>While she supported additional federal assistance to help veterans transition back to civilian life, she encouraged more of them to engage with external services.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnce I was discharged, I didn\u2019t want anything to do with it [the Defence Force] any more. I was really disappointed that I didn\u2019t get the support I asked for in regards to my PTSD and things like that,\u201d Mead said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wanted to wipe my hands of it. But if I had my time over, I would contact Survive to Thrive \u2013 they have saved thousands of lives.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are so many more opportunities now when you get out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re not alone any more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>If you are a current or former Australian Defence Force member, or a relative, and need counselling or support, you can contact the Defence All-Hours Support Line on 1800 628 036 or Open Arms on 1800 011 046.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Crisis support is also available from Lifeline on 13 11 14.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>Most Viewed in Sport<\/h2>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theage.com.au\/sport\/athletics\/anxiety-injury-and-ptsd-nearly-destroyed-brooke-invictus-saved-her-20230902-p5e1i9.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Nick Wright Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. It took more than three months for Brooke Mead to fight through a gym session without breaking down in tears. Panic attacks&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":289758,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Anxiety, injury and PTSD nearly destroyed Brooke. Invictus saved her - Sports-Life-News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/athletics\/anxiety-injury-and-ptsd-nearly-destroyed-brooke-invictus-saved-her\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Anxiety, injury and PTSD nearly destroyed Brooke. Invictus saved her - Sports-Life-News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Nick Wright Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. It took more than three months for Brooke Mead to fight through a gym session without breaking down in tears. Panic attacks...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/athletics\/anxiety-injury-and-ptsd-nearly-destroyed-brooke-invictus-saved-her\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sports-Life-News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-09-06T14:19:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"mediabest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Anxiety-injury-and-PTSD-nearly-destroyed-Brooke.-Invictus-saved-her.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"mediabest\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/athletics\/anxiety-injury-and-ptsd-nearly-destroyed-brooke-invictus-saved-her\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/athletics\/anxiety-injury-and-ptsd-nearly-destroyed-brooke-invictus-saved-her\/\",\"name\":\"Anxiety, injury and PTSD nearly destroyed Brooke. Invictus saved her - Sports-Life-News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-06T14:19:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-06T14:19:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/athletics\/anxiety-injury-and-ptsd-nearly-destroyed-brooke-invictus-saved-her\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/athletics\/anxiety-injury-and-ptsd-nearly-destroyed-brooke-invictus-saved-her\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/athletics\/anxiety-injury-and-ptsd-nearly-destroyed-brooke-invictus-saved-her\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Athletics\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/category\/athletics\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Anxiety, injury and PTSD nearly destroyed Brooke. Invictus saved her\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/\",\"name\":\"Sports-Life-News\",\"description\":\"sports-life-news.com\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609\",\"name\":\"mediabest\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"mediabest\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Anxiety, injury and PTSD nearly destroyed Brooke. Invictus saved her - Sports-Life-News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/athletics\/anxiety-injury-and-ptsd-nearly-destroyed-brooke-invictus-saved-her\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Anxiety, injury and PTSD nearly destroyed Brooke. Invictus saved her - Sports-Life-News","og_description":"By Nick Wright Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. It took more than three months for Brooke Mead to fight through a gym session without breaking down in tears. Panic attacks...","og_url":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/athletics\/anxiety-injury-and-ptsd-nearly-destroyed-brooke-invictus-saved-her\/","og_site_name":"Sports-Life-News","article_published_time":"2023-09-06T14:19:15+00:00","author":"mediabest","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Anxiety-injury-and-PTSD-nearly-destroyed-Brooke.-Invictus-saved-her.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"mediabest","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/athletics\/anxiety-injury-and-ptsd-nearly-destroyed-brooke-invictus-saved-her\/","url":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/athletics\/anxiety-injury-and-ptsd-nearly-destroyed-brooke-invictus-saved-her\/","name":"Anxiety, injury and PTSD nearly destroyed Brooke. Invictus saved her - Sports-Life-News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-09-06T14:19:15+00:00","dateModified":"2023-09-06T14:19:15+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/athletics\/anxiety-injury-and-ptsd-nearly-destroyed-brooke-invictus-saved-her\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/athletics\/anxiety-injury-and-ptsd-nearly-destroyed-brooke-invictus-saved-her\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/athletics\/anxiety-injury-and-ptsd-nearly-destroyed-brooke-invictus-saved-her\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Athletics","item":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/category\/athletics\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Anxiety, injury and PTSD nearly destroyed Brooke. Invictus saved her"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/","name":"Sports-Life-News","description":"sports-life-news.com","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609","name":"mediabest","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"mediabest"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289759"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=289759"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289759\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/289758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=289759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=289759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=289759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}