Soldiers often experience conflict between their need for survival and their emotional attachments to family, friends, and loved ones. This can create relational ambivalence, where they may feel pulled between their obligations to serve their country and their desire to maintain healthy relationships. In this article, I will discuss how soldiers cope with these competing needs and what strategies they employ to navigate this difficult situation.
Survival Needs
The primary goal of soldiers is to stay alive and protect themselves during battle. They must be prepared to fight against enemy forces and do whatever it takes to keep themselves and their fellow soldiers safe. This means that they must prioritize survival over everything else, including their personal relationships. When faced with danger, soldiers are trained to focus on self-preservation and ignore distractions such as family and friends.
Attachment Needs
Soldiers have strong emotional ties to those back home. They miss them dearly and long for the comfort and support of loved ones when they are far away from home. These attachments are essential for mental wellbeing and can provide motivation in times of hardship.
Maintaining healthy relationships while on deployment can be challenging due to frequent relocations, limited communication, and the stress of combat.
Coping Strategies
To deal with the conflicting needs of attachment and survival, soldiers must find ways to balance both priorities. One strategy is to compartmentalize their emotions, focusing solely on their duties during combat but allowing themselves to express feelings towards their family and friends once they return home. Another approach is to seek out emotional support from fellow soldiers, forming close bonds with comrades who understand the unique challenges of military service. Some soldiers also use technology to communicate regularly with loved ones, even if only through text messages or video calls.
Relational ambivalence can be a difficult challenge for soldiers, who may feel torn between their need for survival and their desire for connection. By understanding these competing needs and finding effective coping strategies, they can navigate this situation and remain emotionally resilient despite the demands of military life.
How do soldiers cope with relational ambivalence created by conflicting attachment and survival needs?
Soldiers often experience conflicting attachment and survival needs that can create ambivalent relationships with their loved ones. To cope with this, they may employ several strategies such as compartmentalizing emotions, avoidance of intimacy, and maintaining self-control. These strategies can help them separate their personal lives from their professional duties and reduce the risk of burnout while on deployment.