My name is Katrina Kinn (Kat) and I am the founder of PTSD Peer Support. The motivation to create this resource came from my personal experience of developing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after a workplace incident on a remote Australian outback property. This incident lead to me experiencing, PTSD, anxiety, depression and thoughts of suicide. This is my story,

BEFORE

Before the incident, I was a high functioning, active person. For 7 years, I toured globally with Cirque du Soleil as a show technician and front-of-house supervisor leading a team of 26 staff. In my role I addressed customer needs, and managing any incidents within the 2600 seat Big Top. Before my entertainment career, I was part of the counter terrorism first response tactical team stationed at Sydney International Airport. I had also worked for Qantas Airline Corporate Security division and in Qantas Flight Crew Training as a security incident response trainer.

While on tour in Australia with Cirque de Soleil in March 2020, government COVID restrictions shut down all live entertainment. An opportunity to work in the Australian Outback was offered to me and I accepted it as it would allow me to continue to work and avoid city lock-downs.

PTSD

After the incident, I didn’t know I had PTSD. I became worried when my mental and psychological state began to rapidly deteriorate and my life changed dramatically. I experienced a racing and irregular heartbeat, I had chest pains, difficulty breathing and on several occasions I thought I was having a heart attack. I felt constant nausea and had headaches daily. My mind was not working right, I just couldn’t think straight and I was plagued with flashbacks. Coping with the normal stress and pressure of everyday life became a real struggle. I was experiencing erratic mood swings, which was completely uncharacteristic for me and I couldn’t get any real sleep, when I did, I had nightmares. I felt detached from life, and it was frightening to feel so out of control. As my mental state continued to deteriorate, I spoke with 3 friends about the incident and they all encouraged me to see my doctor and get help. My doctor diagnosed me with PTSD and referred me to see a psychologist.

GETTING HELP

Then came the challenges of getting help. I had to move closer to the city and I endured a 3-month waiting list to see a psychologist. When I got into the psychologist, I could only get appointments fortnightly. I struggled on my own to implement the therapeutic strategies my psychologist taught me and my recovery was painfully slow. Then the day came when I could no longer financially afford to see my psychologist and I still didn’t feel emotionally stable. I felt lost, alone and hopeless. Plagued with panic attacks, anxiety and depression I frequently thought of suicide as I struggled and failed to reintegrate myself back into life. It was heartbreaking to see the pressure my spouse was under, trying to financially support us while coping with the dramatic change that had happened in me. I felt like a burden. My recovery was taking much longer than I had anticipated and I was really afraid I wasn’t going to improve.

THE PEER SUPPORT IDEA

When I got PTSD we lived in the city for 2 months so I could access mental health resources. But we couldn’t sustain the cost of living in the city while also paying the mortgage on our rural home. So we had to returned to live in our country property. Rural towns have limited mental health resources, and to access suitable resources often required a 3 hour drive to the nearest city. Other resources cost money that I didn’t have because I was unable to work. One day it occurred to me that I couldn’t be the only person in this situation. Inspired by psychologist Geri D Weitzman words, “Sometimes you’ve gotta create what you want to be part of” I began thinking of a solution that could benefit both myself and others. That is how the concept of this community platform was born. This platform provides a connection point for people with lived experience of PTSD, anxiety, and depression. This online peer support community is a space where we can share our lived experience, resilience, and hope with each other as we work towards improving our wellness together. We adopted the name PTSD PEER SUPPORT on the 28th September 2024 as reflects this communities mission, purpose and service.

PTSD PEER SUPPORT has No sign-up fees , no pressure, no expectations. We are a community of people with a similar lived experience encouraging each other in our wellness journey. If you’ve got PTSD, we get it. You are welcome to join us, you are not alone.

Katrina Kinn (Kat)