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'I found a new life after pandemic broke me'

Jamie Coulson
Health Correspondent, BBC News, Yorkshire
BBC A 51-year-old woman is standing on a gravel beach. She is wearing a striped, purple swimming robe on top of her costume. She is also wearing a pink woollen headband. The beach is surrounded by rocky harbour walls.BBC
Jude Greaves-Newall moved from West Yorkshire to Scotland two years ago in search of a new life

A nurse who was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during the Covid pandemic has said moving to the Scottish Highlands had proved to be "life-saving".

Jude Greaves-Newall became unwell when the trauma of working in A&E at Bradford Royal Infirmary came on top of losing both her parents within weeks of each other.

In search of a fresh start two years ago, the 51-year-old moved to Wick on the north-east coast of Scotland.

Ms Greaves-Newall said the move had "lifted some of the stress" and had given her the time and space to "recover and heal".

Jude Greaves-Newall A smartly dressed couple in their sixties are standing in front of a row of cars. The man is on the left and the woman is on the right. They are both smiling and are dressed as though they are going to a wedding. The man is wearing a suit with a light blue tie. The woman has a light blue, flowery dress and is wearing a corsage.Jude Greaves-Newall
Jude Greaves-Newall's parents, Allan and Barbara (pictured), died just over four weeks apart in 2020

Ms Greaves-Newall's mum, Barbara, died in March 2020 after suffering from pulmonary fibrosis, a lung disease, for a long time, while her dad, Allan, died just over four weeks later after catching Covid.

The couple, who had fostered hundreds of children over 35 years, died during the first Covid wave, and, as a result, neither was able to have a full funeral.

"They ed away when they shouldn't have done. They ed away too young," Ms Greaves-Newall said.

"I know Covid didn't take my mum, but an illness that's horrible - that she didn't deserve - did.

"But Covid did take my dad – and I do feel he was cheated," she said.

Jude Greaves-Newall A 51-year old woman is taking a selfie of herself while wearing surgical scrubs, a visor and a mask in a hospital setting. She has a stethoscope hanging around her neck. Her hair has a slight blue dye in it. There are boxed in the background that look like they contain medical equipment.Jude Greaves-Newall
Ms Greaves-Newall began experiencing panic attacks when she returned to work in A&E

When Ms Greaves-Newall eventually returned to work in A&E at Bradford Royal Infirmary following the deaths of her parents, the advanced nurse practitioner began experiencing panic attacks and poor sleep.

She said she believed these were triggered by the combination of grieving for her parents while also dealing with "terrible situations" at work with sick patients.

"I ended up really unwell as a result of it all," she said.

"My emotions and my feelings were really heightened, maybe like a raw nerve."

Ms Greaves-Newall said that on one occasion she suffered a panic attack in her car outside work and had to call a colleague for help.

"I couldn't breathe; I was sweating; I was crying; I was having palpitations; and she sat and talked me down and calmed me down," she explained.

"I had to call in sick and go home - I couldn't physically go into work."

Ms Greaves-Newall sought help and was eventually diagnosed with PTSD, which she described as an "accumulation of tough stuff and badness".

She was given psychological help and , but she said she also realised she needed to make changes in her life.

Jude Greaves-Newall A woman with blonde hair is standing next to a teenage boy and a man in his fifties on a football pitch. The woman is wearing a green v-neck jumper. The teenager is wearing a red jumper and is resting a football on his head. The man is wearing a dark brown top that has a zip down the front. All three are smiling.Jude Greaves-Newall
Ms Greaves-Newall moved to Wick with teenage son Quinn and her husband Vince

That sparked the move 400 miles north to Wick - a place Ms Greaves-Newall had fallen in love with after visiting with her family on holiday - to begin a new life.

She was ed by her husband Vince and teenage son Quinn, while her two grown-up children and four grandchildren still live in West Yorkshire.

Two years on, Ms Greaves-Newall now works in a GP practice and enjoys a slower pace of life, which includes going wild swimming up to four times a week.

She said: "I can safely say that since moving here, there has not been a single occasion where I've gone, 'what have we done":[]}