Soldiers are required to maintain strict discipline and adhere to a hierarchy when working together, but this can create tension with their personal lives. In order to maintain emotional wellbeing and avoid conflict within their unit, they must balance the need for emotional openness and self-protection. This article will explore how soldiers navigate these competing demands and stay mentally healthy.
Balancing Emotions and Hierarchy
Hierarchy is an essential part of military life, as it helps ensure that orders are followed efficiently and effectively.
It also creates barriers between individuals, making it difficult to be completely open and honest about one's feelings. This can lead to suppressed emotions, which can have negative consequences on mental health if left unchecked. To balance these conflicting needs, soldiers develop strategies to manage their emotions while still remaining respectful of rank.
Developing Emotion Management Skills
Soldiers learn to recognize their own emotions and those of others early on in their training, allowing them to identify potential issues before they escalate into conflicts. They practice active listening, empathy, and communication skills to build trust within their team. Soldiers also prioritize positive relationships by spending time with friends outside of work, creating a support network that helps them cope with stress.
Soldiers participate in physical activities like running or martial arts, which help release tension and promote positive energy.
Dealing With Negative Feelings
Despite their efforts, soldiers may still experience negative emotions such as anger, frustration, or sadness. When this happens, they turn to self-reflection and introspection to understand why they feel the way they do. They may journal, meditate, or talk to a therapist to process their thoughts and feelings without judgment. By acknowledging their emotions and working through them, soldiers can reduce their risk of developing mental health problems like depression or PTSD.
Fostering Healthy Relationships
Soldiers must also maintain strong bonds with their families and partners to stay mentally healthy. This requires open communication about personal lives, including sexuality and intimacy.
This can be challenging when military life demands strict boundaries between personal and professional lives. To address these issues, some units host regular events for family members to build connections. Others rely on technology to keep in touch, using video calls and messaging apps to maintain closeness despite distance.
Balancing emotional openness and hierarchy is a challenge faced by all military personnel, but it is essential for maintaining mental health and wellbeing. Through training, practice, and support from peers and loved ones, soldiers learn to navigate this delicate balance successfully, allowing them to thrive in both their professional and personal lives.
How do soldiers balance emotional openness with the need for self-protection in hierarchical environments?
Soldiers are often required to maintain emotional distance from their peers while working together towards a common goal. They must be able to trust each other but also know that they may have to take risks that put them at odds with one another, which can create tension. Balancing these two needs requires careful attention to both the individual's own emotions and those of others around them.