Canada’s combat mission in Afghanistan may be officially over, but for many veterans the battle to reintegrate into civilian life has only just begun.
One of those veterans is Sean Nowostawsky, who was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) seven months after returning from his tour in Afghanistan in 2009.
PTSD is a disorder brought on by trauma that can manifest itself in a variety of ways, such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, anger or mood disorders.
In September 2008, Nowostawsky was deployed to Afghanistan as a bright-eyed 22-year-old soldier with the 33 Combat Engineer Regiment under 2CER, which was deployed with the 3 Royal Canadian Regiment battle group. The regiment was stationed in the Panjwayi district in Kandahar Province, widely considered the spiritual home of the Taliban.
During his seven-month tour, his platoon regularly came under fire while they conducted vehicle checkpoints, coordinated searches of compounds and carried out dismounted patrols.
“We were the tip of the spear,” recalled Nowostawsky, who declined to go into detail about his time at war.
After finishing his tour in April 2009 and returning home to Ottawa, he struggled to reintegrate into civilian life and was soon diagnosed with PTSD.
“Reintegration was rough,” he said.
“It was tough to come to terms with what I went through and coming to terms with the person I became.
“I went from helping people out and making a difference in the world to being a part-time reservist and working in construction.”
Upon returning from Afghanistan he was awarded a general campaign star and a sacrifice medal for injuries he sustained from a suicide car bomb.
In an attempt to deal with his problems, he tried to sign up for another tour, but was hampered by his diagnosis—one that he wasn't prepared to accept.
“I didn’t want the medication they were prescribing me. I just didn’t agree with the way they were going to provide me therapy.
“I knew that medicating was not the best way for me to get better. The only person that could pick me up, I realized, was me.”
It’s unclear how many soldiers that have returned from Afghanistan suffer with PTSD or other psychiatric conditions, but according to a Canadian Forces Mental Health Survey, PTSD doubled from 2002 to 2013.
The results found that 5.3 per cent of soldiers reported experiencing PTSD in the 12 months prior to the survey, up from 2.8 per cent 11 years earlier.
According to a recent Globe and Mail investigation, at least 59 soldiers have committed suicide after serving in the Afghan war, including 53 who were still active members.
That’s more than one third of the total number of Canadian soldiers who died during the war. In total 158 Canadian soldiers died in Afghanistan during the 13-year NATO-led combat operation that ended last year.
In a bid to try something new and shake things up, Nowostawsky tried to transfer to the 41 Combat Engineer Regiment in Edmonton, only to be told when he got there that the unit was already at capacity.
Faced with few other options and a diagnosis that seemed to be hindering his career prospects, he decided it was time to leave the military. He was voluntarily released with an honourable discharge on May 15, 2015, nine and a half years after he first joined the reserves
While in Edmonton, he made it a point to visit Jasper, a place he had visited with his family when he was a kid, and quickly found solace in the mountains.
“It’s so clear what’s important and what’s not important when I’m here,” said Nowostawsky, explaining that after returning to Canada it took him nearly two and half years to feel like himself again.
“Whatever the world’s all wrapped up in, when I’m here I have nothing to do with it and don’t have to put it on my shoulders.”
These days Nowostawsky, who works for an engineering firm in Edmonton, spends a lot of his time fly fishing and hiking in the mountains.
“I’ve met a lot of people [in Jasper] and it just feels like the community I was missing.”
Paul Clarke
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