Soldiers spend a significant amount of time away from home for their job. They are often deployed to dangerous places where they face various risks every day. Their families also have to suffer through these deployments. The partners of soldiers carry a lot of psychological burdens during such long absences due to their loneliness and uncertainty about the safety of their loved ones. This article will discuss some common psychological problems that partners of soldiers experience when their spouses are away for an extended period.
1. Loneliness: Soldiers' partners feel lonely without them around. It is normal to miss each other during deployment, but it can cause feelings of isolation and depression. Partners may struggle to perform daily tasks alone and maintain a routine without their partner's support. They might even feel socially isolated because friends and family members do not understand the challenges they face as military families. Long-term separation causes emotional distress, especially if partners are new parents or live far away from each other.
2. Anxiety: Partners worry about their soldier's safety while they are away from home. This anxiety can lead to insomnia, panic attacks, and physical symptoms like headaches and stomach aches. They constantly check news updates to see if there is anything new about the situation in the area where their partner is stationed. When soldiers return from duty, partners need time to readjust to being together again after months apart. Some may even become paranoid about losing their loved one at any moment.
3. Uncertainty: Partners never know what could happen to their soldier during deployment. They often receive cryptic messages about the risks their loved one faces and may be left wondering how much danger they are actually in. This uncertainty can lead to stress and constant worrying about whether something bad has happened to their soldier. They may also wonder why they cannot contact their partner directly and rely on phone calls and letters instead.
4. Grief: Military couples experience the loss of intimacy when one partner is deployed. They may feel that their relationship is no longer important enough for their partner to come home regularly or that they have lost touch with who their soldier was before going into service. Partners miss out on major milestones like birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays due to deployments. These losses can cause intense grief and make it difficult for them to move forward in life without their soldier around.
5. Identity crisis: Deployment changes both partners because of all the sacrifices made for military life. Soldiers struggle to adjust back into civilian life while partners try to maintain a stable routine without their spouse present. The loss of shared memories and traditions can create an identity crisis for both parties as they try to figure out who they were before this lifestyle choice entered their lives. They may feel guilty for not sharing in each other's experiences or resentful if one partner feels more affected than the other by these events.
6. Post-deployment challenges: Reintegration after long absences requires time and effort from both partners. It can take months for soldiers to readjust to daily life and cope with any trauma experienced during deployment. They might struggle with PTSD symptoms such as nightmares, flashbacks, anxiety attacks, or depression. This can put additional stress on their relationships since partners must deal with extra responsibilities while trying to support their loved ones through healing.
Long-term separation causes psychological burdens for both partners in military marriages. Understanding these issues can help couples prepare for future deployments and get through them healthily together.
What psychological burdens do partners of soldiers carry during long absences?
Long separations can lead to psychological distress for both parties involved. The partner left behind may experience anxiety, depression, and loneliness due to the lack of physical presence and communication with their significant other. They may also have difficulty adjusting to new routines and responsibilities as a single parent if children are present. Additionally, feelings of insecurity and uncertainty about the relationship can arise as the absence lengthens.