Ross-shire resident opens up about experience with PTSD after his time in the army
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A Ross-shire resident has opened up about his experience with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after his time in the army – and how music has helped in his healing journey.
Ali Duff (45) served in the Royal Artillery between 1993 to 2003, completing two tours of Kosovo in this time. He was then administratively discharged before getting medically discharged after receiving his PTSD diagnosis.
After his time serving, Ali and his partner Siobhan Purcell ran a B&B in Contin. However, soon his mental health had him on his knees.
Ali explained: “Things got really bad for me, and I wasn’t able to work. We lost our jobs and our home. We were kicked out on Christmas Eve, and I had been suicidal.
“I then reached out to Poppyscotland who provided me with help and support and they put me on the right track.
“We moved down to Tarbert in Argyllshire, where I then started to play my bagpipes for the first time in 35 years.”
Ali’s partner Siobhan started a Facebook page during lockdown, dubbed The Hairy Piper. Ali would learn a new tune each day, and share his music with the world.
Siobhan said: “I wanted to encourage him to go live with his music, as I could see that playing was really helping him. You could see that it was healing him.”
Ali added: “For me playing takes away a lot of negative obsessions as I’ve always got a tune to play or I’m working out what’s going on with the pipes.”
The pair moved back to Avoch, and now Ali is making it his mission to bagpipe at as many war monuments as possible before Remembrance Day on November 11. So far he has completed quite a few, and the pair always stop at a monument whenever they are passing by one.
“Things got really bad for me and I wasn’t able to work. We lost our jobs and our home. We were kicked out on Christmas Eve, and I had been suicidal. I then reached out to Poppyscotland who provided me with help and support and they put me on the right track."
By doing this he hopes to raise awareness and make it easier for people, especially men, to talk about PTSD and their mental health.
He said: “I play to remember our heroes at the war memorials and hopefully weather permitting will try to get all the memorials in the Black Isle done before Remembrance Day.
“I also want to raise awareness of what we go through. Mental health in general is not talked about enough.
“Men feel they can’t show weakness and mental health is seen as one they can’t even deal with. It’s hard to admit when there is something wrong.
“I also don’t think the figures for veteran suicide and PTSD are always accurate, as the majority of people I know are suffering with PTSD.
“There’s still a big stigma about mental health, but the younger generation are talking about it more which is good.”
The pair use The Hairy Piper Facebook to raise money for Poppy Scotland, who continue to support veterans.
Ali added: “Poppyscotland helped us out, and we were able to pay them back with the fundraising we have done, and we are continuing to raise money for them.”
