When soldiers go to war, they face many challenges that can have long-term psychological effects. One challenge is the difficulty of maintaining healthy relationships while undergoing combat conditions. This includes dealing with separation from loved ones, constant risk, and trauma exposure.
It's also important for soldiers to stay connected to family members while deployed and reintegrate into society after returning home.
Reconciling these two expectations is difficult because it requires balancing individual needs against group goals. Soldiers may feel guilty about missing out on personal time while completing missions, but this is necessary for accomplishing their duty. It's also challenging to transition back into civilian life when adjusting to new routines and environments. Some soldiers experience Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and substance abuse as a result of operational stress. These issues can strain relationships and make reconciliation more difficult.
To address these issues, some programs provide support for soldiers and families during deployment. Programs such as Comprehensive Soldier Fitness offer training in resilience, communication skills, and relationship building.
The Army offers resources like the Real Warriors Campaign which provides information about mental health care options and encourages help-seeking behavior among service members. The Military Family Life Counselor program offers counseling services for military spouses who struggle with deployment or other issues related to military life.
Some units organize social events to bring people together before deployment and upon return so they can maintain connections despite being apart.
Soldier's psychological wellbeing must be prioritized over relational expectations in order to ensure success both at war and at home. By recognizing the importance of both factors, we can better understand how to support those who serve our country by ensuring their needs are met both emotionally and relationally.
How do soldiers reconcile relational expectations with the long-term psychological effects of repeated operational stress?
The challenge is that many soldiers experience both personal and professional difficulties when they return from combat operations due to the physical, mental, emotional, and cultural changes they undergo during their deployment. These changes can create dissonance between what individuals expected of themselves before deployment and what they have experienced in reality.