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Zarathustra said:
Don't think it can be prevented but I think stress generally can be mitigated with information. I'm sorting through my own bag of worms trying to come to grips with a few things and am finding the more information and feedback I get, the more piles of crap there seem to be to start digging thru. This is apparently because I figured I'd just get on with a few things, put them on ignore, and try to not think about stuff... Well here I am 10 years later at the beginning again and only got here because it became impossible to function, too much crap loaded on top of too much other crap, ergo melt down. The way its been explained to me is there is a critical incident, a thing or series of closely related things that differ so much from your personal world view of how a thing should be that yer not able to rationalize it so can't file it away. Ya kinda get stuck. Then apparently other crap gets loaded on top of the first bunch of crap and before ya know it yer havin a melt down. So, given this, it makes sense that the sooner you can get stuff rationalized and stored away in your brain normally so that it makes some kinda sense to ya the better off you are. I think this means that when some shit happens you talk about it. I think talking about it, just saying the words, makes it real and recognizing something for what it is allows us to start to find a way to cope with it. I think that's where all the dark humour comes from. Its a way to get it outside yourself, say it to some other human being, get rid of it and get on with things. So there we were picking up bits and pieces daily, young shepherds stepping on mines and screwing with UXO, the bodies were stacking up like cord wood, and one morning early it was a 12 year old boy. There was nothing to do for him but of course ya gotta go find the site the best you can, do the paperwork, find the family... Two hours later, we're done, clapped my hands together and said, right, who wants breakfast? I wasn't kidding. Went in and made pancakes and the whole thing got talked about and normalized (stop looking at me funny) and we were all good to go. I never got stuck on that. Out of the 8 people involved I know of only one that did. There was more to that story than met the eye though.
I think there's leadership involved here and not some phantom establishment responsibility but that it rests with the people out doing the deeds to make this work just as soon as it possibly can. That means the group or individual has to be aware they've just had some experience that completely rocked their world, or things have been accumulating and they have to feel like they can turn to the soldier standing next to them and comment on it. I think this is where it starts. Trust me, if you store it or think you're going to stuff it down you'll be able to for awhile but its going to eat you from the inside out. I've seen guys out there so totally strung out with stress that they're on full alert almost 24/7. They're space cadets, the kind that are braver than you sharing your trench. You can see the layers of stuff by the way they react to stuff. Some totally void of any sense of caution. Instead of going to ground when its raining rockets they're heading to the roof to watch the light show. UNbelievable. They don't deal with anything, its all bravado and adrenaline on auto pilot. I think that's some advanced stages of walking meltdown or something. Its easy to see when you're looking for it. I think there's also a sit where a soldier just isn't acting like they normally do, withdrawn or depressed or real bad moods all the time or who does repetitive things for no apparent reason. Find out what's up. If its you, go connect with somebody, don't isolate yourself. I think alot of the preventative or at least early intervention stuff is real simple soldier stuff. Get to know each other before you go where you're going so you'll know what abby normal looks like when you see it. Find out all you can about the place you're going, pictures, video, mags, anything, country stats, mission, NGOs there and what they're doing, so when you see something you can put it into some kinda context. Talk to each other all the time, deal with it when it happens. Ask questions when you see something you don't understand. Be curious. Be a team. Be organized. Try to find normal in the chaos. Know that you can't fix the world but you can do you job real well while your away and when you come back to the world you can understand that you've contributed - feel good about that.
