The program & the recovery

The program Anthony participated in was alongside some of his other colleagues getting help for their own battles.

Fortunately, the support from both WA Police and their families to help Monique and their children, meant Anthony could stay at the residence for the entire program, allowing him to fully dedicate himself to his recovery.

Anthony completed the program and began his own recovery phase. He began exercising more, journaling, meditating, being more open with his wife and found a new love for reiki therapy and spiritual healing.

“I felt fantastic after the completing the program, but I knew I would still have to put in the work each and every day but at least I knew what I was living with. You have to be proactive and be open to trying new things and forming positive habits”, he said. “I journal and meditate every day now, but before I had PTSD, I would have laughed at the idea.”

“I can’t speak highly enough of the program and the health professionals there, it saved my life one hundred percent, and I am forever grateful that the program is available for my colleagues.”

He said a vital part of recovery was having support and being open and honest about his progress.

“Without people stepping in to help me, it would have been a completely different story, they were instrumental in me getting the help I needed and if it wasn’t for that I don’t know where I’d be.”

From Monique’s perspective, she said the program was run exceptionally well as they involved the officers’ family members.

“I attended some family nights with the doctors, where I was taught more about PTSD and learnt an understanding of what Anthony was going through and how his brain worked,” she said.

“It was so valuable getting a better understanding of how his brain could escalate something small into a bigger scenario and what those triggers may be. Without that education you would never know what to look for.”

Monique said it was a relief when her husband was diagnosed as he had been suffering for so long with no answers. She also said the shift in him after completing the program was astounding.

“It was like his whole persona changed and I had my husband back. He was more open, there was more communication, and we had some really tough conversations about what he was going through at the time but hadn’t admitted to anyone or himself,” she said.

“You hear of people getting PTSD all the time but at the end of the day it’s just a word to you until you actually live it. Everyone’s PTSD journey and diagnosis is so different, and everyone has a different story, symptoms and triggers.”

Monique said while the program had changed their lives, they knew it wasn’t an immediate fix and Anthony would still struggle for the rest of his life – but at least they now had the tools and education to manage it.

The moral injury & the bullying

Whilst we won’t go into the details or the extent of Anthony and Monique’s bullying story and the hard time it created for them – it was the catalyst of his moral injury, mixed in with policing exposure that led to his PTSD.

“It was such a stressful time for us. The situation got that bad that the stress it had caused led to the loss of a baby” he said.

“I could see at the time it had affected Monique, so I contacted Health, Welfare and Safety and got her some help. I neglected myself and little did I know that my cup was slowly starting to fill”

Despite being warned not to, when they finally got the courage to report the bullying, they received little to no support from the agency.

“I started this career encased with the blue family support – what they did for me with my dad – and then to be on the complete other end was a shock, it was a completely new experience and super disappointing,” he said.

“I have talked to a lot of colleagues and bullying is huge and not something to be ignored. My illness could have been a completely different story if we were supported more,” he said.

While Anthony felt let down by the agency during this time, he did say that later after his mental health collapse and since reaching out for help with his PTSD – the agency had been incredibly supportive.

“Since I fell over, the support was there from the get-go –so I knew there was still this amazing side to the agency. I can’t fault Health, Welfare and Safety– they were great,” he said.

“I ran my own race and recovered in my own time. They helped with medical costs and got me through the Hollywood Program helping wherever they could, so we’ll always be so grateful for that.”

Anthony said it was an anxious time for him as essentially the agency held his career in their hands.

“I was fearful that they were going to try and push me out and I didn’t want to be medically retired. If I was ever going to leave the WA Police, I wanted it to be on my terms, he said. My goal was to become fully operational again and prove through my online blog and the talks I’ve done recently – that just because you have a mental illness – It shouldn’t jeopardise your career,” he said.

“Day one on the program they ask you want you want to get out of it and why you’re there. Apart from getting the tools to cope with my PTSD, I stood up and I said I want to be transparent, and I wanted to be a voice for WA Police and for all my colleagues who are suffering, to raise awareness,”

“I think I’ve achieved that.” ▷

The next steps

When I asked Anthony what came next for him since finding his feet and learning to live with his diagnosis, he said it was simple; he loved his work as a police officer and now he would love to have the capacity to help his colleagues in the mental health sphere.

“In my mind I’m wanting to educate myself more so I can look at helping others through mentoring, or trauma recovery work. I still want to be a police officer even after what I went through, I’m not ready to just walk away. I still love what I do, I always have,” he said.

“What I enjoy now is mental health education. When I returned to Major Crash on a return to work program –I created a Wellness Journal for any officer who wanted one. I know what the staff here are exposed to and I know journaling helped me.”

“In my position as a Sergeant I can reach so many of my colleagues and be there as a mentor or someone to talk to. There’s always someone who is going to resonate with my story.”

He said more training, forums, education, structure and awareness was crucial for the WA Police Force.

Anthony said he would love to use his position and present talks about these issues at the Academy to new recruits or any forums.

He said getting the help he needed and participating in the trauma program saved his life.

“Without getting the help I needed – I can never predict what would have happened, but I was in a fucking dark place – things got really low. I wouldn’t say I had suicidal thoughts, but I would say it saved my marriage, it saved my relationship with my children, and it saved me from being a shell,” he said.

“I became a dad and a husband again. It gave me back my emotions which were numb for so long. I’m grateful for the what the program has done for my marriage. We talk extremely open now and nothing is off the table.”

As part of his recovery, Anthony has taken up boxing and is trained by his good mate, former UFC fighter and awardwinning mental health advocate, Soa ‘The Hulk’ Palelei. Anthony said Soa and his team, made up of Corporate CEO’s and mental health practitioners, constantly support and encourage him.

“They provide me with a fun and safe community and a network to openly discuss mental health topics and issues,” he said.

Each year, Soa hosts a Corporate Boxing Event where they raise money for charities, with this years event scheduled for the 25 November 2023 at The Crown Towers.

Anthony said he has been training hard and still has a lot of work to do, but recently found out that he was going to be on the fight card.

“This is an amazing opportunity and something I am really looking forward to,” he said.

Conclusion

Anthony believes there is always an opportunity for continuous improvement within the agency, whether it be addressing bullying that occurs, mental health education or how supervisors can be equipped with tools and knowledge to recognise concerning behaviours in their officers.

“Having that support is crucial, in many cases you hear that someone’s illness hasn’t been picked up on and their partner has left them because they didn’t know how to cope with it or recognise that something more sinister was going on. I feel blessed, I owe my life to Monique for sticking around and now also educating herself on how to live with it,” he said.

Anthony said he never anticipated that one day he would be engaging in mental health services and encourages his colleagues to never shy away from speaking up.

“Look after yourself first and think of how you want your family to remember you by. Work can replace you tomorrow, but your family can’t,” he said.

Anthony said he would love to see a permanently employed psychologist embedded within several business units across the agency, such as Major Crash.

“We do have one allocated to us at Major Crash, but they often change and are only here every four to six weeks. A permanent one could build trust and rapport with officers which is crucial” he said.

He said his online blog on Facebook, presentation at the WA Police Union Annual Conference last year and sharing this story in the Police News magazine is only the beginning.

“I believe speaking at the Academy would have a huge impact and I am happy to put my hand up and be that person. I never thought I would be on stage at Annual Conference sharing my story so publicly, but I’ve now found a passion for helping and educating people,” he said.

“When doing my online blog, I thought if it helped one person, then that would be great, but now I’ve helped several. The more you talk about it the higher chance someone is out there thinking ‘oh I can resonate with this’ and then takes that step to have a conversation.”

You can’t forget the past, but you can change how you view it, and Detective Sergeant Anthony Pymm is making moves into breaking down the barriers of mental health among police officers.

He hopes his story can encourage others to speak up if they are experiencing their own struggles or learn how to observe behaviour changes amongst their colleagues.

He goal is that by having these conversations, mental health will become a bigger priority for WA Police. For now, Anthony is again fully operational and has been medication free for over a year. He is doing all he can to prove having a mental illness does not have to be a life sentence and that its okay not to be okay.

Who knows what the future holds for Anthony or which stage he might appear on next, but with a spring in his step and a sparkle in his eye…you know it’s going to be good.

You can follow Anthony’s journey on his Facebook Blog – Anth’s Trauma Recovery ■

IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW NEEDS HELP, PLEASE MAKE THE CALL

WA Police Union 24/7 Emergency Director 0438 080 930

LIFELINE 13 11 14

WA Police Health, Welfare and Safety 6229 5615

Police on Call Psychologist (After Hours) 0409 119 056

Police on Call Chaplain 6229 5633