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Survival Strategies in War and Bringing Them Home
Raymond M Scurfield, DSW, LCSW raymond.scurfield@usm.edu 228.234-2062 [Survival modes in war and bringing them home.doc Rev. March 26, 2007]
Adapted from two books in my Vietnam Trilogy: Chapter 3, pp. 23-32 in A Vietnam Trilogy. Veterans and Post Traumatic Stress: 1968, 1989 & 2000 (NY: Algora, 2004) and Chapter 4, pp. 84- 90 in War Trauma. Lessons Unlearned From Vietnam to Iraq (NY: Algora., 2006)
Functional War Survival Strategies And How They May Become Prolonged
Fight or Flight You meet and engage in fighting the enemy and coping and surviving actions in the day-to-day struggles in a war-zone. Conversely, in the face of overwhelming and inescapable exposure to the stressors in a war-zone or to overwhelming enemy forces, you choose to leave and get away. These are the two classic and instinctual survival strategies that have been genetically imprinted in human beings over the millennia, instinctual responses that have ensured the survival of the human species from the days of the cave dwellers and up through modern times.
Conversely, there is a potential downside to this dual survival strategy. A number of war survivors, after they have left the war-zone, may have found themselves plagued with feelings of guilt, shame, grief or unremitting rage over what they did to survive (e.g., “tactical retreat” or flee) or survive during the war. And so this may be bothering you now, and/or it may come back to haunt you months or years from now.
Detachment, Numbing And Denial You learn how to protect yourself against the horrors of what you are witnessing and do so by convincing yourself that “it don’t mean nothin’ ”, no matter what happens. You learn to selfanesthetize to not feel what otherwise would be overwhelming---anxiety, fear, shock, horror, depression, loss, grief.
This was described by a war veteran about himself and his cousin who were plagues for years about horrors they had been exposed to:
Somehow along the way, Dub and I both managed to put up a wall around this issue [the recurring traumatic memories]. There is nothing honorable in killing. Nothing is as horrible as the inner soul-rendering scream that comes with the first time. Then the numbness comes to silence it. Numbness is a narcotic to the soul. Numbness takes over your life and has a death grip on you until (if) you finally reach a point of total security with being home among family and friends. There is nothing to glorify what we do in war. 1
And so, numbing, detachment or denial can be at least a temporary refuge from the terrible memories or continuing struggles. Furthermore, you may get so good at detachment, denial and emotional numbing that you carry this with you long after the war has passed. For example, a number of family members of war veterans have described their veteran family member as not able to show or perhaps even feel normal emotions like everyone else and that they are emotionally inaccessible. 1 J.P. McDonald. Letter to the Editor, The SunHerald, Biloxi, MS. November 12, 2004, p. D-2.
Tunnel Vision In the face of daily life in the war-zone and/or the continuing, seemingly relentless challenges and stresses post-war, you learn how to maintain an intense, focused, full attention in order to complete particular tasks and become impervious to whatever else is going on around you. Yes, you learn to focus all of your energies and attention on completing the immediate task or objective, such as physically exerting tasks, preoccupation with completing various disaster applications and follow Through (because there always must be follow-through, time and time and time again!) ---to the exclusion of every thing else.
This can be a good, or a bad, skill and attitude that you carry with you. You may find that tunnel vision helps you to get through tough times in the war and post-war. Conversely, you may find that tunnel vision has become so second nature that you have great difficulty or find it impossible to ever turn it off. And this can be devastating to relationships, or to be able to enjoy life fully.
External Discharging Of Emotions Finding an outlet for the inevitable cumulative build-up of stress, frustration, grief, fear and rage that are inevitable in a war-zone is crucial to surviving. There will be an accumulation of pent-up emotions and these demand an outlet. Such rage may be channeled towards whoever is considered to be “the enemy” and it can go beyond those firing weapons at you to apparent civilians who may o may not be insurgents or allies of insurgents. Such channelized rage, if it is controllable and more anger than rage that you remain in control of, can be very functional, or it can fuel you internal anger in a way that promotes your own resolve that you will persevere, no matter what..
Conversely, there may be an absence of regular opportunities to discharge such pent-up emotions, which is especially likely when there are not readily available targets for such rage—such as in a war that is waged by guerillas, insurgents or terrorists. Thus, pent-up emotions can erupt strongly and unexpectedly, to include possibly towards innocent people, and even towards family, friends, neighbors or random persons that you meet.
This is because the pent-up emotions have to go somewhere. If not expressed outwardly, you may well redirect such feelings inwardly or suppress them, keep pushing them down. And you can carry this home with you, and find it very difficult to share what is going on with you with your family members or even with your close friends. It might continue to build up and then you explode in anger, frustration or grief. Or, you may isolate in an attempt to avoid possibly having your deep emotions and memories triggered or to prevent venting your emotions against others.
Belief in Fate/Randomness/Higher Power Many survivors of war rely on their long-standing faith in a higher power or Supreme Being to sustain them through the horrors of what they are and have faced. Others find their faith and beliefs severely challenged, or decimated when they come face-to-face with the horrors and inhumanity and seemingly random nature of who was hurt the most and the least.
For example, the first question that some soldiers often ask after something bad has happened in the war-zone is, “Why me, God?” Or, “Why did this have to happen to ___, God?” Or “How could a caring God allow this happen to me---or to so many good people?” And other soldiers will ask: “Why me, God”, and “There is a God and I need to reconnect.” Also, there is the issue of morality in a war-zone, such as: “thou shalt not kill” (especially women and children), “thou shalt not commit adultery,” and “what you do to the least of my brethren you do unto me.”
And there is the issue of morality. Do you purposefully exaggerate or lie about what you faced or did in the war? Also, ministers, priests and chaplains can be a source of great comfort and counsel to many disaster survivors and active duty personnel. However, some combat vets have perceived a marked conflict---viewing chaplains as blessing our troops to kill and emphasizing that “god is on our side”---but not on the enemy’s. 2 You may find yourself wondering how can there be a God or higher power who would allow people, and you, to do what they and you do to each other to survive, such as perhaps being mean to or harm Iraqi civilians rather than take the chance that they might be insurgents or insurgent-sympathizers. And you may carry such issues back home.
Problematic Survival Strategies And How They May Become Prolonged
5 Goan, 2004, p. 58. |