A Story on Mental Wellbeing Support (Stress, PTSD)
“You can’t always see the wounds—but they’re just as real.”
Name: Sergeant Ibrahim Musa
Service Branch: Nigerian Army
Service Number: NA/2043891
Location: Kaduna
Status: Active Duty (On Medical Leave)
For over a decade, Sergeant Ibrahim Musa served on the frontlines of Nigeria’s internal security operations, from the restive northeast to bandit-scarred villages in the northwest. He was a seasoned infantryman, respected by his men and known for his calm under fire. But after years of repeated exposure to trauma—including the loss of two close comrades in an ambush in Borno State—his inner resilience began to erode.
Ibrahim’s symptoms crept in quietly: sleepless nights, intrusive flashbacks, irritability that began to fracture relationships at home. His wife, Maryam, began to notice his growing distance and volatile mood. Their children, once his joy, became triggers for stress when they played too loudly. Eventually, Ibrahim’s commanding officer intervened and referred him to a military medical facility—but treatment was brief and largely focused on medication.
“They told me to rest. But how do you rest a mind that won’t stop running?” Ibrahim recalls.
Frustrated and feeling ashamed, Ibrahim withdrew further. That’s when a colleague connected him to Heroes Help.
Through our Mental Wellbeing Support Programme, Ibrahim was assigned a trauma-informed caseworker and given access to 1-on-1 therapy sessions with a licensed psychologist specialising in PTSD and operational stress injuries. These sessions were free, confidential, and available virtually—removing the stigma of walking into a clinic.
He also joined our “Echoes of Service” peer support circle, a small group of veterans and serving personnel dealing with similar challenges. It was there, for the first time, that Ibrahim found people who understood what it felt like to live with invisible wounds.
“I didn’t have to explain why I couldn’t stand the sound of generators, or why I hated being in crowded mosques. They just… got it.”
Over six months, Ibrahim made remarkable progress. With tools like breathing regulation, trauma reframing, and family support sessions, his communication with Maryam improved. He learned to manage his triggers and gradually returned to routine—this time with balance.
Heroes Help also provided a bursary so Maryam could attend a caregiver training session on living with PTSD, giving her the insight and strength to stand beside him on the road to recovery.
Today, Ibrahim is on phased reintegration into non-combat roles and has become an ambassador for mental wellbeing within his unit.
“I may still carry the past—but now it doesn’t carry me.”
Mental injuries deserve as much care as physical ones.
At Heroes Help, we offer confidential, culturally sensitive support to those carrying the weight of duty. Recovery begins with talking. Let us listen.
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