By Andrea Brandt — 2019
Structure and community are things you may be surprised to miss.
Read on www.psychologytoday.com
CLEAR ALL
The process to uncover your purpose after a career in military service takes great introspection.
Like most veterans, I found the transition from military to civilian life a struggle—a tougher struggle than I had anticipated. For me, I found that one of my trickier struggles was with my identity.
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The Paralympics had not yet been invented. These veterans were sports trailblazers. They were medical miracles as well.
Armed forces long prohibited gay people from service – but that only encouraged their communities and cause.
In a path to heal, a clinician guides a veteran through a conversation with an imaginary and benevolent “moral authority” to talk about the act or event that has caused suffering. The patient then describes the regret and sorrow that has followed, and asks for forgiveness or a chance to atone.
Soldiers are always supposed to be thinking. That’s what West Point teaches its cadets, who are officers in training. You’re supposed to question the orders you’re given, to see whether they conform to the Geneva Conventions and the laws of war.
Our treatment of troops returning from combat has led to a culture of permanent disability. They deserve better.