Veteran Darren Hardy discusses PTSD book and urges others to open up
Darren Hardy, a 15-year British Army veteran, discusses his new book about PTSD and mental health, saying writing it was therapy and urging others to open up.
How it was covered
- Channel 5 was the only channel found covering it, concentrating on Darren Hardy's PTSD book, personal trauma and advice on opening up.
- BBC News, BBC One, BBC Two, Channel 4, GB News, ITV and Sky News: not found in tracked broadcasts.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story. Facts only one channel reported are attributed to it.
Darren Hardy, a veteran of 15 years in the British Army, has discussed his new book about PTSD and mental health in an interview with Channel 5's 5 News. He told the channel the book was finally published on 1 November and grew out of a psychologist's suggestion six years ago that he write down his experiences as a form of therapy.
Hardy told the channel that writing the book helped him and that he hoped it could help others by taking them through his journey. He said the idea came through work with a psychologist at Help for Heroes.
He told Channel 5 that he traced the roots of his PTSD to a 2006 operation in Iraq. He said a military 'stiff upper lip' approach kept him going until a 2015 training event in Canada triggered something from his 2006 Iraq operation, after which his mental health worsened.
He described the effect as imploding rather than exploding and said he had to open up in 2016 after a child's birthday party made him realise something was wrong. Hardy said opening up was harder than his earlier challenge of pulling a Land Rover more than 100 kilometres by himself. He said mental health problems are not visible and that people often hide distress behind a facade.
He urged men and women, including busy mothers who may feel unseen, to talk or write down what they are feeling and give it to someone who will listen. He said he had learned to speak to others rather than carry trauma himself.
This year, Hardy said he was involved in a roadside fatality that triggered a lot of his PTSD. He told the channel he worked on casualties, one of whom did not survive, and spent two or three days speaking to people to get it off his chest.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| Darren Hardy served 15 years in the British Army and authored a book about his mental health. | |
| Hardy said a roadside fatality this year triggered his PTSD. | |
| Hardy said an incident during a 2015 training operation in Canada triggered a reaction connected to his 2006 Iraq operation. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The channel gave the story a personal, sympathetic studio interview focused on Hardy's own account of PTSD, the book's origins and his advice to others. It framed his willingness to open up as harder than his Land Rover fundraising challenge and stressed practical steps such as writing things down or speaking to someone. It did not examine policy, military mental health services or wider veterans' issues.
- “one of the psychologists said you should write this down as a way of therapy”
- “I'd probably describe it was imploding rather than exploding”
- “I literally just spoke to everyone to get it off my chest”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.