Night terrors, flashbacks and panic attacks - former police reveal trauma

Night terrors, flashbacks and panic attacks - former police reveal traumaTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.This video can not be playedFigure caption, Richard, Nick and Neil shared their experiences of the trauma they experienced during their police careersByAlex Bish and Jonathan Eden, South East Investigations and Jonathan Fagg, BBC England Data UnitPublished1 hour agoThree retired police officers have spoken for the first time about the amount of trauma officers and staff are exposed to and the toll it can have on their mental health.Richard, Nick and Neil, who have served 83 years between them, have shared their experiences with the BBC to raise awareness of the impact on front line officers.The Police Federation said officers were under relentless pressure and exposed to trauma daily.The Home Office recently announced new funding, including support for a mental health crisis line for officers and staff, external that was set up last July and has received more than 350 calls.Image caption, Officers are struggling with their workload, says RichardRichard was medically retired with complex post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in 2025 after 26 years in the service."I went from being a very confident person, good at my job, to someone scared to go outside," he said."If I saw a police car with blue lights on it would cause me to have a panic attack. I would shut down to the point where my partner would have to do everything for me."Richard said he had been supported by Sussex Police, but was aware of the challenges his former colleagues were facing."Officers are going from job to job to job and they're struggling with the workload," he added.'Drip, drip, drip of trauma'Nick, from Sussex, worked on high profile cases including the search for Sarah Everard in Kent.He also retired with complex PTSD after two decades of policing. "It's the constant drip, drip, drip of trauma, not just...