He has written about his experiences as a police officer in 9370 - Sooner or Later Everyone Pays a Price: A Memoir About Front Line Policing.
He said post-traumatic stress (PTS) was something that remained etched in people's subconscious for the rest of their life.
"You can learn to manage it with therapy and counselling, but sadly many haven't come back from it because they take their life before they give themselves a chance to get better," he said.
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READ NOW"It is soul-destroying and at its worst suicidal. Untreated and exposed to a constant accumulation of PTS incidents is a mental time bomb."
Mr Yates compared his experience to that of soldiers in combat. He said they experienced a range of stressful situations "outside of the range of usual human experience" and police officers often did not receive the community support they needed either.
He comes back to the war analogy often, asking readers to "think of Anzac and Remembrance Day, to observe the old Diggers with their chest full of ribbons and medals, with tears streaming from their eyes".
They are still affected by incidents that happened to them many years ago.
"I have good days and not-so-good days; it is a daily fight to stay positively focused," he said.
"Im a long way from that black hole I was in years ago."
There are also often financial repercussions for officers affected by PTS.
"Police officers who are forced to medically retire because of PTS are not covered by worker's compensation," he said.
"Unemployed, they become financially responsible for their own medical costs.
"There is no after-care support or help for treatment and counselling."
This is due to a loophole where the WA Government considers police officers as holders of a public office.
"It's saying you can be a police officer at your own risk. If you get injured while on the job and can't work anymore, you don't matter, you are on your own," he said.
Ultimately, Mr Yates wants other officers who are struggling with PTS to know they are not alone.
"It's not a weakness. There is hope, the condition can be managed," he said.
"I want to promote more understanding between the community and police.
"I wanted to share my moments of truth that were stranger than fiction.
"There were so many of them and readers can be forgiven if they think the stories were made up but they are all real; they did happen."