A young serviceman diagnosed with PTSD is trying to eliminate the “man up” mentality as he searches for further support for veterans.

Having completed three tours of Afghanistan, 25 year-old Jamie Jones returned home having seen a lot more than men his age would have.

Mr Jones has been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), suffers from anxiety, hardly sleeps and show symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder.

His first tour, in 2009, was when he was 18 where he completed roles as a driver, soldier, combat medic and tracker and was a part of a 81mm mortar and medical emergency response teams.

He said: “During each tour something serious happened to me and it was time to come home and change career as it was having serious affects on my mental health.

“It was impossible to talk to anyone as the attitude was ''man up'' and ''get on with it''.”

“I first sort medical help from my doctor - Dr Crawford of Bodreinallt surgery in Conwy – when family members noticed a massive change in the way I was acting, I was no longer Jamie.

“Dr Crawford has been so supportive over the past four years ensuring I receive the best support and treatment and so have other GP'S who work at the surgery who know me very well.

“I see Dr Crawford regularly as I relapse a lot and have severe depression and anxiety and really struggle with my PTSD.

“I finally got a formal diagnosis of PTSD, anxiety and depression a year ago due to a long waiting list for consultants in North Wales.

“The services I have found have been good but took a very long time to get into as of course there is a very long waiting list and not many psychiatrist trained in this area of Military PTSD.”

Since his return from service Mr Jones has received community based support from Veterans NHS Wales and combat stress and is now trying to make these groups more accessible.

Local charity Change Step, a service that is delivered by veterans for veterans, has offered peer mentoring and help to access relevant services.

Mr Jones said his personal mentor Phil Williams has done a “fantastic job, going the extra mile and always being just a phone call away”.

He has been so taken with the work Change Step do Mr Jones has started a fundraising page (www.justgiving.com/ JamieJones04).

He said: “We require more funding for mental health in general not just for veterans.

“But Veterans NHS Wales and other organisations similar need more funding to provide a variety of support.

“We need to also make the whole of North Wales aware that veterans are no longer just old gentleman.”

Mr Jones, who hopes to become a Change Step mentor himself in near future, said: “I will be able to deal with it better but I will never ever be able to forget the things I have seen and done whilst I served in Afghanistan.”