Soldiers are trained to be resilient, but their work environment can lead them to experience traumatic events that challenge this resilience. They may witness horrific scenes during combat operations or have difficulty adjusting when returning home from deployment. These experiences can cause difficulties in forming and maintaining attachments, trusting others, and feeling safe. To overcome these challenges, they must understand how past experiences impact current behavior and practice strategies for rebuilding relational trust, attachment, and emotional safety. This article will explore why soldiers need to develop healthy relationships after experiencing trauma and provide examples of effective coping mechanisms.
Reconstructing Relationship Trust
After experiencing trauma, soldiers often struggle to trust others because they fear being hurt again. This mistrust can make it difficult to form new bonds or sustain existing ones. To rebuild trust, soldiers must identify the root causes of their distrust and address them through therapy or self-reflection.
If a soldier struggles with abandonment issues, he/she may be more likely to push people away before they can betray him/her again. Once identified, he/she can work with a counselor or mentor who can help guide him/her through these feelings and relearn how to trust others without sacrificing his/her own needs.
Soldiers can seek out groups where they feel supported and valued by others who understand their experiences.
Building Attachment
Traumatic experiences can also damage a person's ability to connect emotionally with others, making it difficult to establish strong attachments. Soldiers may feel disconnected from loved ones back home or struggle to relate to civilian life. They may withdraw from social interactions or find it hard to share their thoughts and feelings. To build attachment, soldiers should engage in activities that allow them to spend time with loved ones and express themselves authentically. This could include spending quality time together at home or taking part in group activities like sports or hobbies. It's essential for soldiers to learn how to communicate effectively with those around them so they can create meaningful relationships built on mutual understanding and respect.
Feeling Safe Emotionally
After experiencing trauma, many soldiers become hypervigilant about danger and cannot relax in safe environments. This makes it challenging to experience joy and peace even when there is no immediate threat. To regain emotional safety, soldiers need to develop coping mechanisms that allow them to manage stress healthily.
Deep breathing exercises, meditation, yoga, or other mindfulness practices can reduce anxiety and promote calm. Exercise is another way for soldiers to release tension physically while building strength mentally.
Seeking professional help can provide additional support as soldiers reconstruct their emotional well-being after trauma.
How do soldiers reconstruct relational trust, attachment, and emotional safety after traumatic experiences?
Many studies have shown that soldiers can develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to their exposure to violence and trauma during warfare. This disorder is characterized by symptoms such as anxiety, depression, flashbacks, avoidance behaviors, and hypervigilance which may last for months or years following traumatic events.