How to Support a Veteran Who’s Struggling with Military Trauma

What is Military Trauma?

Military trauma refers to the psychological distress and emotional suffering experienced by individuals serving in the armed forces as a result of exposure to traumatic events. This can include combat exposure, training accidents, military sexual trauma, and witnessing or experiencing the aftermath of violence and death.

Historically, our awareness of military trauma originally emerged around the time of the first and second world wars when it was described using terms like ‘battle shock’ or ‘shell shock’. In the past, it’s also been referred to as ‘combat trauma’, ‘combat stress’ and ‘battle fatigue’.

Addressing Stigma

Previously, if soldiers refused to fight, froze or ran away because they were traumatised, they would be disciplined and dealt with harshly. More recently, during my own career in the armed forces, the term ‘malingering’ was still used to refer to people who were not willing or able to do their job. Our understanding of military trauma has evolved, but it would be fair to say some of this stigma remains.

Often, people wait until they leave the armed forces before seeking help as they’re concerned about the impact on their career and how their difficulties might be viewed. They also have to contend with strong beliefs about putting the mission and the job ahead of everything else, including their own mental health.

The barriers created by these sorts of attitudes can have significant consequences for active members of the armed forces, veterans, and their loved ones. Addressing this stigma is crucial for promoting mental health and wellbeing within the military community.

Understanding Military Culture and its Impact on the Individual

Military culture is unique, and the community around it has some very distinct characteristics. From basic training, where military values and cultural expectations are instilled, members of the armed forces develop and hone a particular mindset that prioritises resilience and containment of distress.

There’s also a strong emphasis on the collective and being part of the team. As well as living together in military accommodation, service members often spend their downtime with their colleagues too, engaging in sport and hobbies together. It’s also very common for service members to enter into romantic relationships and marriage. All these factors combine to create an incredibly cohesive community, but this can also mean it’s somewhat set apart from the rest of the population.

The threat system of a military person is well honed and often on high alert. As well as serving on various combat or humanitarian operations, a significant portion of their time is dedicated to military exercises and training. They are expected to maintain a certain sense of readiness at all times and the decision-making they’re tasked with is often critical and even life or death. This mean they are generally more vigilant and more reactive to perceived threat.

Compartmentalisation as a Coping Strategy

In many ways, the things people are exposed to during military operations are beyond our comprehension. During my own career, I completed numerous training exercises ahead of serving overseas, but nothing prepared me for the reality of what I experienced in Afghanistan.

What’s unique about the military (and to some extent, other blue light services) is that as well as being exposed to very high levels of trauma, members must maintain a calm demeanour and continue to function in an occupational role while that trauma unfolds. This can lead to something called ‘compartmentalisation’ where the individual boxes things away in their mind and keeps them separate.

While this allows people to cope in the moment, it’s not an adequate long-term strategy. We simply do not have an infinite ability to compartmentalise difficult things. Eventually, it can actually make us feel quite cut off from the world around us.

Signs and Symptoms of Military Trauma

Generally, military trauma presents like PTSD and Complex PTSD. You can read more about these conditions via the links below:

· What is PTSD?

· What is Complex PTSD?

When people leave the armed forces, they often go through a challenging period of adjustment as they transition back into civilian life. This in itself can be stressful, triggering mental health problems and exacerbating emotional distress.

In my experience, other symptoms commonly seen in this population are high levels of anger, detachment or emotional numbness, and difficulties engaging with positive events in their lives. I’ve also found individuals will continue to seek high threat and risk environments which often leaves them exposed to further trauma.

How to Support a Veteran Who’s Struggling with Military Trauma

First, I would encourage you to support yourself. Living with someone who’s struggling with military trauma can be very difficult. You might find it helpful to read and learn about trauma and its effects so you can better understand what they’re going through. It can also be beneficial for you to connect with other families or people going through a similar experience. Finally, you might want to consider seeking your own individual therapy.

Don’t be disheartened if they choose not to confide in you or have difficulty voicing their experiences. I believe the military/civilian divide I highlighted earlier can impact who service members feel able to talk to and how they approach sharing what they’ve been through.

Many of the veterans I see in my practice come to me because the people around them have encouraged them to seek support. If you’re feeling helpless, this is a simple step you can take to support your loved one.

Find Out More

If you or a loved one is struggling with any of the things described in this article, I can help. Please get in touch to learn more about individual therapy. Alternatively, subscribe to The Trauma Toolbox to receive my insights and tips straight to your inbox every month. I also share lots of mental health education via Instagram.