Veteran mum with PTSD attempted suicide five times

It was after her fifth suicide attempt that Andrea Josephs decided to choose life. Army veteran Andrea Josephs has launched a not-for-profit to help veterans after battling PTSD and surviving five suicide attempts Andrea said some of her PTSD symptoms were derived from the fear that she could not protect her girls Andrea, now 43, knew since she was young that she wanted to follow in her father's footsteps after he served in the Royal Australian Air Force. Andrea enlisted in the Army as a soldier in 1991, and was shipped overseas as a truck driver and supply operator in 1999 during the East Timorese Crisis Andrea, now 43, knew since she was young that she wanted to follow in her father's footsteps after he served in the Royal Australian Air Force There would be two suicide attempts before Andrea was officially diagnosed with PTSD in 2004. At one point, the single mum and her four daughters were homeless 'It absolutely broke my heart to see this young woman so broken, who didn't know how to fix herself,' Andrea said. That's what inspired one of Andrea's daughters to make the tribute video, and the idea behind what would become the not-for-profit organisation Matilda Poppy.