North Okanagan-Shuswap author spills the tea on living with PTSD
Published 5:30 am Saturday, March 7, 2026
By Barb Brouwer,
Contributor
Matthew Heneghan is spilling the tea about living with post traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD).
Following on the success of his previous books, the author who continues to live with PTSD, has written Trauma and Tea: Essays on Trauma, Recovery, and Growing Up the Hard Way, to share his experiences with the sometimes debilitating condition.
Heneghan grew up in a home with a mother who was ill and an abusive father. When he was 18, he enlisted as a medic in the Canadian military as a way to give back to society, get an education, earn money and mature.
Twenty-five years later, what he experienced continues to haunt him. He says PTSD is a lifelong companion for which he has had to develop new coping mechanisms.
Frequent nightmares take him back to a scene in Afghanistan or to military funerals for buddies who were war casualties.
“It’s very disorienting; obviously I’m not there, but my mind thinks I am,” he said, noting the bad dreams come once or twice a week. “In the dream I am reliving the event; I feel a searing pain.”
When he wakes up, it takes time for his mind to catch up with reality, and it is not uncommon for Heneghan to fall out of bed during a nightmares episode. So, to soften the blow of landing on the floor, he placed a gym mat beside the bed.
“Landing on hardwood really, really hurts,” he said, noting he has tried to add a bit of humour to help soften the blow. “I put a little bullseye on the mat to see how close I am to landing on it.”
One of the toughest symptoms he deals with is hyper vigilance when he is out and about. Even though rationally he knows he’s not in a war zone, he is constantly scanning the area and always acutely aware of what’s going on around him.
These occurrences are more common and impactful when Heneghan is short on sleep or stressed.
The sound of sirens is a trigger for the former medic, and he has misophonia, a chronic neurological condition causing extreme emotional and physical “fight-or-flight” reactions (rage, anxiety, panic) to specific, often quiet, repetitive sounds like chewing or breathing.
Heneghan said the condition has been linked to PTSD and the sound of people chewing food, or the sound of a nylon windbreaker rustling are two of his triggers.
“It definitely comes in waves; things pile up and I become terse, agitated and sometimes snappy,” he says. “My patience level isn’t there and I have to take a timeout and tell people ‘this isn’t you, I’m having a moment’.”
Having experienced many major traumas, Heneghan said he doesn’t know which one is triggering a reaction.
He remembers the last traumatic event very clearly. A neighbour had a heart attack by Heneghan’s Falkland home last year. Training took over and he performed CPR, saving the man’s life. The stress and anxiety attached to the event took a couple of weeks to subside, but Heneghan is delighted see his neighbour out on the deck with his wife, enjoying life.
“You have to find ways to compensate, he said, noting that ‘‘nothing is permanent, this too will pass” is his oft-repeated mantra.
“I can’t always control my symptoms, but I can own my control.”
The Falkland author was among a group of North Okanagan-Shuswap residents selected to receive a King Charles III Coronation Medal in 2023 commemorating King Charles III’s coronation. The medal is awarded to individuals who have made a significant contribution to Canada, or to a particular province, territory, region or community of Canada, or have made an outstanding achievement abroad that brings credit to the nation.
Heneghan hopes that sharing his experiences in his writing helps others dealing with trauma, recovery and personal growth. He has written A Medic’s Mind and Woven in War and has a podcast called Unwritten Chapters.
In August 2024, he received British Columbia’s Medal of Good Citizenship for his dedication to mental health advocacy and community service.
His new book, Trauma and Tea, is a series of essays describing the early chapters of his life.
“It’s a part love letter to growing up in the ’90s, meeting my best friend Drew and adolescent hijinks, even though life was unstable and pretty traumatic,” he said.
Heneghan has added a disclaimer to some of the paramedic and military stories in his new book, advising the reader that the content is heavy and might be triggering for some people.
He is hoping to receive a shipment of his book by mid March and is planning to hold a book-signing at Bookingham Palace Bookstore in the Mall at Piccadilly.
He is already working on his next book, A Dumb Guy’s Guide to Wisdom, a collection of introspections and anecdotes, with perspectives on navigating and reframing reaction to trauma.
“Writing is definitely a form of personal therapy,” he said, noting he needed a steam valve following his service with the military and paramedics and continues to journal every day. “I hope the book lands where it needs to land, and lets people know they are not alone.”
Read more: Salmon Arm grad shares struggles with trauma and addiction
Read more: North Okanagan author weaves tribute to friend killed serving in Afghanistan