As a veteran and a psychologist on Veterans Day, I was thinking about what to write about veterans. I have written in the past on multiple occasions about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and treat individuals suffering from PTSD in my practice. Then I came across an interesting article by James Clark from 2018 titled “For most vets PTSD isn’t the problem, transition stress is. Here’s what that means”. The author contends that while PTSD has become a much-discussed affliction, a seemingly more prevalent problem of transition stress is going largely overlooked. For a complete discussion of stress and its influence in our lives, please read our book (I Can’t Take It Anymore: How to Manage Stress so It Doesn’t Manage You; Paul G. Longobardi, Ph.D., and Janice B. Longobardi, R.N., B.S.N., P.H.N.), available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1542458056. For information about the book, authors, and stress, please visit our website at www.manageyourhealthandstress.com.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not minimizing the seriousness of the PTSD issue for many veterans. Yet, Clark’s article is based on an essay titled “Beyond war and PTSD: The crucial role of transition stress in the lives of military veterans”, by George A. Bonanno, a professor of clinical psychology at Columbia Teachers College, and Meaghan Mobbs, a PhD student at the college and a former Army officer. In that article, the authors contend that though only a relatively small percentage of recent veterans develop PTSD — somewhere between 11% and 20% for Iraq and Afghanistan War-era veterans in a given year — the disproportionate attention given to PTSD overshadows a more pervasive problem among vets. That is transition stress.
The problem all too often is that the veteran serves, whether in war or peace, and then returns to a situation with less sense of meaning, purpose, and fulfillment in their life. The military service has provided the purpose of a mission repeated and reinforced in many ways. There is clarity where you fit in the hierarchy, camaraderie, and shared experiences. I know I used to say when I got out of the military that it war harder to know the ranks of individuals in civilian organizations, sometimes contributing to less clarity of mission and vision.
The authors described transition stress as encompassing a number of issues facing transitioning military veterans, which can lead to anxiety, depression, and other behavioral difficulties. They include a loss of purpose and sense of identity, difficulties securing employment, conflicted relationships with family and friends, and other general challenges adapting to post-military life. Veterans easily can lose their sense of self, purpose, and meaning formerly provided by the military.
Further, they face challenges in re-entry into society exacerbated by what the authors call the civilian-military divide and the broken vet stereotype. The civilian-military divide refers to the increasing tendency for the all volunteer military to have become more insular so that most Americans have no idea what service, wartime or otherwise, looks like. The broken vet stereotype refers to the misperception of many civilians. A 2016 survey by Military Times found that roughly 40% of civilians think half of all post-9/11 veterans — that would be roughly 1.4 million Americans — have a mental health disorder. Veterans are aware of that perception and, to acknowledge their stress and difficulties, they often devolve to report they have PTSD and become even more stigmatized and stereotyped. The authors reported that maximal focus is on training and retraining military members but minimal focus is on helping veterans prepare for transition back to civilian life.
I was struck with this analysis for several reasons. I find in my work with clients that their lack of purpose and meaning often contributes to an existential vacuum into which despair, malaise, and many other problems fill the void. Also, the issues of transition reminded me of what I and my colleague Dr. Tony Strickland wrote about in discussing the transitions of professional athletes out of the sport. In our article titled “Is there life after sports?” in Professional Sports LIves Magazine in 2016 (Volume 5, Issue 2) we discussed several issues likely pertinent to transitioning veterans. These include their range of social support, the strength of their athlete (military) identity, and the strength of their identity outside of athletics (military). Does the military member have a life outside of the military with non-military persons? Have they made early preparations for life after sport (military)? Bonanno and Mobbs recommended that a mentorship program be initiated that would help the veteran transition back into civilian life just to help with the daily things of life and understanding the transition process. Some of the difficult things are just reintegrating with friends and families and managing those relationships. We need to do more for our veterans.
I wish a Happy Veterans Day to all. For those who have served, thanks for your service. For those in transition, be kind and patient with yourselves and seek out help. Best wishes on your journey.
Dr. Paul Longobardi
For information on these and related topics, please visit my website at www.successandmindset.com