Soldiers deployed on combat missions often experience emotional trauma that changes their behavioral patterns and affects their personal lives upon return from duty. During deployment, they develop coping mechanisms such as emotional detachment, fear management, aggression suppression, and social withdrawal that help them survive high-stress situations. These strategies are necessary for military personnel who must be ready to make split-second decisions while facing imminent danger.
These behaviors can have unintended consequences when soldiers try to adapt back into peacetime family life. In this article, I will discuss how soldiers' deployment experiences shape their emotional behaviors and how they cope with these changes after leaving the military.
Emotional Detachment
During deployment, soldiers learn to suppress their emotions to avoid becoming vulnerable in dangerous situations. This emotional detachment helps them maintain focus and control their reactions under stress.
If a soldier sees his friend get killed in front of him, he may repress the feelings of grief or sadness so he can continue fighting without breaking down. He may also disconnect emotionally from other aspects of his life, including his relationships with loved ones. When soldiers come home from deployment, they may struggle to connect emotionally with family members because they have not developed healthy ways to express their feelings. They may feel distant from their partners and children, leading to misunderstandings and tension at home.
Fear Management
Deployment can cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is a mental illness characterized by anxiety, nightmares, flashbacks, and depression. Soldiers use fear management techniques to cope with PTSD symptoms and avoid panic attacks during combat missions. After returning home, they may find it difficult to manage everyday fears that do not pose an immediate threat to their safety.
A veteran who experienced explosive devices may be startled by loud noises such as fireworks or car backfires, causing him to jump out of his skin. His partner may misinterpret this reaction as unreasonable behavior or lack of trustworthiness. The soldier must relearn how to regulate his fear response through counseling or therapy sessions.
Aggression Suppression
Soldiers are trained to suppress aggressive impulses to maintain discipline within their units. This behavior becomes second nature while on active duty but can spill over into peacetime family life. A soldier may become short-tempered or irritated with his partner for seemingly trivial reasons. He may also react angrily to situations where patience or calm communication would be more appropriate.
The soldier can learn to control his anger and find better ways to resolve conflicts with loved ones.
Social Withdrawal
Soldiers spend long periods in isolation from civilian society during deployment, leading to social withdrawal upon return. They may feel detached from their community and struggle to connect with people outside their unit. This behavior affects their relationships with partners and children, who need emotional support and companionship. Veterans may feel disconnected from their partners' interests or hobbies because they have been away for so long. They may need to reestablish intimacy and trust by engaging in shared activities together.
Soldiers develop coping mechanisms during deployment that help them survive combat stress.
These behaviors can cause problems when they try to transition back into everyday life. Emotional detachment, fear management, aggression suppression, and social withdrawal are some of the challenges veterans face after leaving the military. Through counseling and therapy, soldiers can learn healthy ways to manage their emotions and build stronger relationships with loved ones.
How do soldiers adapt emotional behaviors learned in deployment to peacetime family life?
Soldiers may find it difficult to transition from a life of rigorous military discipline to everyday civilian life, especially when it comes to maintaining healthy relationships with their families after deployment. The experience of being away from home for an extended period can result in changes in communication patterns and expectations, which can lead to misunderstandings and frustration between spouses and children.