Exhausted: Capt Paul Krohn, 1HSB, takes a break and gathers his thoughts after treating severely injured locals at the Banda Aceh Hospital as part of Operation Sumatra Assist.

Photo by Cpl Belinda Mepham, 1JPAU

Triumph over trouble
We give you some tips on how to cope with your emotions and what to tell your friends and family about traumatic events you deal with in your military life.

What you see and do on deployment and exercises are some of the hardest experiences to tell others about.

It’s one thing for your family and friends to see and hear on TV the political upheaval in East Timor, the bombings in Iraq or the devastation and death toll of the Asia-Pacific tsunami.

It’s quite another to experience it first-hand.

Is there a right or wrong way deal with your emotions in these circumstances? No.

Everyone will react differently to the same event, sometimes immediately, sometimes a significant time after the incident.

Common reactions

Common emotions in the early stages after a traumatic event can include the following:

• shock, which leaves you stunned or dazed or acting on “autopilot”.
  
  You may have trouble taking in information and responding to your environment but can get the job at hand done competently;
• irritability or moodiness.
  
  You may be especially anxious or nervous, feel down or even depressed;
• behavioural changes, for example repeated vivid memories that can leave you sweating, increase your heartbeat or avoiding activities or people that remind you of the event.
  
  You could find it difficult to concentrate, sleep, make decisions, or become more easily confused;
• greater conflict with family, friends and co-workers which strains relationships. You may feel isolated or withdrawn; and
• physical symptoms of extreme stress, such as headaches, nausea and chest pain.
  
  Pre-deployment briefings and psychological screening can help people acknowledge what they will or have encountered.
  
  However, highly threatening and long-lasting events, or those involving loss of life and substantial property loss often take longer to resolve.
  
  The more stress an individual is living with before the traumatic event (such as a personal or health problem), the more difficult it is likely to be to cope with the new trauma.

Acting on agony

If you know, or even just feel, that something isn’t quite right, a number of things can be done to help restore emotional and psychological wellbeing following a traumatic experience.

These things include doing the following:

• monitor your level of re-exposure to the event;
• communicate your experiences: talk to people, write a diary, draw, paint, exercise;
• give yourself time to heal. Anticipate that this will be a difficult time and try to be patient with changes in your emotional state;
• ask for support. Speak to others who have experienced the same event or something similar, seek professional help or others who you usually rely on for support;
• eat well, avoid caffeine, nicotine, alcohol and drugs and get plenty of rest;
• establish routines, such as eating meals at a regular time; and
• avoid major life decisions if possible.

Talking tips

Talking to your family or friends about what you’ve been doing, what it’s been like and what you’re feeling is not always easy.

How do you begin to try to make people at home understand without distressing them too much?

Try these things:

• prepare: write a list of things you want to say on the phone.
  
  Think about how “best to put things” and write out key phrases. Also make a list of things you want to avoid saying which may cause unnecessary anxiety;
• remember their perspective: the people you talk to may only know as much as they have heard, seen or read in the media and they may be feeling overwhelmed or compassioned- out.
  
  If they seem disinterested, focus on what you’re doing and other aspects of the ADF’s presence there as a lead-in to talking about what you want to talk about.
  
  Try to focus on your feelings and how you are reacting to the experiences.
  
  For example, you may have been struck by the sight of a child and this triggered thoughts about your own children, thoughts that upset you.
  
  These are the important things to talk about with your partner, friends and family at home;
  
  
• be conscious of things changing at home to compensate for your absence: your flatmate may have a cat, your best friend may be socialising with other people much more, your partner may have rearranged the bedroom.
  
  Wait until you return to decide whether these changes are good or not; and
• check how you’re communicating with others: 60 per cent of communication is through non-verbal

language such as facial expressions, hand actions, body posture and touch.

When you use the phone, email or write a letter, be careful to clarify jokes and other subjects that may be ambiguous to another person who is anxious and preoccupied with your safety.

For events that you believe are too distressing or upsetting to discuss while you are deployed, consider keeping diary or journal. This can help you understand your reaction.

It’s a record to share with others later or just keep for yourself.

If you really need to talk to someone while on deployment, you can always approach the unit chaplain or medical/psychological support team.

There are also a range of services in Australia to access (see box at right). – Information for this article is based on DPE’s web site http://defweb2.cbr.defence.gov.au/dpedhs/ and www.defence.gov.au/dpe/dhs where more information on managing reactions to major disasters and trauma can be found.

.