Growing older with post traumatic stress disorder

Ageing with mental illness is a neglected area of research and policy. People who grow older to later life with on-going mental health problems may not have their needs well understood. This understanding is important if mental health services are to ensure direct or indirect age discrimination is avoided. This paper discusses the issues of ageing with mental illness over a prolonged period of time with a focus on one person’s story, Bernard, of ageing with post-traumatic stress disorder in the UK. Implications for practice are discussed in the context of life course, recovery, self-help and preventing suicide. The narrative illustrates how time, memory and meaning interweave and how ageing with mental illness become part of a person’s ongoing identity