As a result of her career and understanding of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder – PTSD, Belinda will take you on a journey sharing her work experiences in some of the most dangerous and high risk areas in policing. Belinda will talk about the effect of this work, succumbing to PTSD and severe depression, the personal toll on her ability to function including seriously considering suicide.
Belinda will explain how to recognize and cope with such events to minimise their impact, and, most importantly, Belinda will discuss with you her road to recovery.
Belinda Neil has also previously delivered training presentations to both corporate and government areas on communication, conflict resolution, dealing with difficult people and negotiation.
Belinda Neil lived and breathed her high-octane job. She relished her roles as a homicide investigator and hostage negotiator with the New South Wales police force, but she never knew what her work day might bring. She could be investigating brutal murders such as the De Gruchy killings or, in her negotiator role, persuading the murderous and suicidal to drop their weapons, stop terrorising their families, step back from the ledge.
It was hardly surprising that over time the horrors she saw began to take their toll. After years of broken sleep, traumatic crime scenes and death, one disastrous weekend brought everything to a head. The next morning when she awoke, Belinda found she was shaking so badly she could not get out of bed. A short time later, Belinda found herself contemplating jumping off a cliff in the Moreton Bay National Park. She had even written the suicide note.
Under Siege shows us the remarkable job homicide investigators and hostage negotiators perform, and their endurance and courage in impossible circumstances. More than that, this brave memoir reveals how the daily trauma and stress affected Belinda’s roles as wife and mother and how she fought against the terrifying post traumatic stress disorder that resulted to come back from a very dark place.
