'When the school bell goes, it's fight or flight' - the PTSD faced by NI's prison guards

"I'm only here because of my grandchildren or I wouldn't be here."

For Rebecca, the job changed her as a person. She was never able to switch off.

Rebecca, who predominantly worked with sex offenders, said even reading what they had done to children and adults was "horrific".

"I had to release those people knowing that they were not rehabilitated," she said

She said the attacks she experienced at work became "the norm".

"If I went into my job and I wasn't threatened on a day I would come out and go: 'Oh I mustn't have done my job today.'"

She said her complex PTSD, which leads to panic attacks, means she can still end up in hospital because she believes she's dying.

"I trust nobody. I don't have friends as I would call them.

"I maybe have one or two that I have had since childhood really, that I know that I can trust. But I don't trust even my husband 100%. I trust nobody."

In 2025, it was revealed that Northern Ireland prisons had a "high density" of inmates, with cell sharing at Maghaberry jail on the increase in order to deal with space issues - based on data for 2023-24.

Northern Ireland has a rate of 109 prisoners for every 100,000 people in the population. The equivalent figure for Scotland was 149 and England and Wales was 140.

PTSD, a mental health condition that is attributable to events, can mean that traumatic incidents can come to mind at any time, said Dr Michael Duffy.

"It's triggered by situations and circumstances that remind them of the trauma, and so they get these intrusive memories," he said.

Dr Duffy, director of Queen's University Belfast's Research Centre for Stress, Trauma and Related Conditions (STARC), added that people then "try to suppress it" to keep the memories at bay, often using things like alcohol.

"Because they're constantly frightened of the event happening again, they stay in red alert mode so they're hypervigilant, always looking out for danger, always looking over their shoulder, even when danger isn't there."

When it comes to complex PTSD, Dr Duffy explained that that means three additional symptoms.

"One is that it has an effect on your relationships. Secondly, it can develop a very profound negative sense of yourself. You start to view yourself differently after a while.

"And, then thirdly, it's difficult to regulate emotions sometimes so you get unregulated and you can get angry out of the blue, get sad and it's very hard to see these coming."

In a statement the Department of Justice (DoJ) said prison officers "provide an essential public service", adding that they face "physical and mental demands as part of their job" and "we regret if any former officers are struggling in any way".

The statement said its sickness policy recognises all medical conditions, including PTSD.

It added that there are a number of support services available, including counselling and those from the Police Retraining and Rehabilitation Trust (PRRT).

The trust provides an initial psychological assessment within two weeks of referral and puts in place support, based on need, within three months.

"We would urge these two former officers to seek out that specialist support that is available for them," a spokesman said.

The DoJ added that the Northern Ireland Prison Service is "one of the most closely examined" in the UK, noting positive recent inspection reports for Magilligan Prison and Hydebank Wood.

It said that any assault on a prison officer is "unacceptable" and all incidents are taken seriously, reviewed thoroughly, and met with "firm action", including disciplinary sanctions and referral to the PSNI where appropriate.

You can listen to the interview with both former prison officers on Talkback on BBC Radio Ulster at 12:00 BST and it will be available on BBC Sounds.

If any of the issues raised in this article have affected you, details of help and support are available on the BBC Action Line.