Ground shaking artillery rounds are falling to your left and right. The sounds of projectiles speeding by or over your head and the sounds of screams coming from those men you have learned to depend on. The carnage of war everywhere; it seems to never end and as a combat Veteran you feel as if you've arrived upon another planet! This is just a small example of what many combat Veterans have gone through repeatedly during there time in combat. Over this time period in combat, the abnormal, becomes the normal; what one believed about themselves, others and the world dramatically changes. Many veterans come to the conclusion; they will never be safe again, regardless if they make it home or not; the world will never be the same.
Because the world has drastically changed and is now to the combat Veteran unsafe and unpredictable; no one and nothing can be trusted. To trust is to place yourself out in the open physically or maybe emotionally. Trusting is about allowing yourself to be vulnerable; the last thing a combat Veteran wants to do! What combat Veterans want to do is feel safe as all humans! It of course is a priority to the combat Veteran, because being vulnerable in combat meant life or death! Being able to differentiate the difference between the level of threat between Vietnam and your local neighborhood for the combat Veteran is not always easy, when you're dealing with constant triggers and intrusive thoughts, as well as nightmares or the horrors of war. The past so frequently rises to the surface with PTSD and so it begins to be difficult to tell the difference between the present and the past and the emotions that develop for the Veteran, thus reinforcing their belief, that right now in the present it is truly unsafe.
It is very important to understand that much of a combat Veteran with PTSD behaviors are focused and funneled around a priority value... feeling safe. Combat Veterans do not feel safe; so in a pursuit to feel safer in any given situation, they will make decisions to behave in a certain way that may seem odd to most. Odd, because most of us do not carry a constant thought or feeling of how unsafe or unpredictable our environment is or could be. "Grounded" some may say or "naive" to others; the fact remains that if one does not experience or witness significant fear, horror or trauma, they may never give "threat" another thought.
The next time you interact with a combat Veteran and you witness them jumping to the startling of a car back firing, or wonder why the Veteran does not go to the local fire works on the 4th of July with his family or witness them sitting in the corner of a room facing the door way, or maybe suddenly leaving a line at the shopping market, or maybe becoming very angry after seeing a news flash, or maybe not wanting to talk about their experiences because they don't trust you, etc..., the reasons are numerous for their behaviors.
Keep in mind, they are not crazy. They are reacting as all humans do to a chaotic and abnormal environment such as combat; unpredictable and extremely dangerous. Have no misunderstanding, combat Veterans many times feel extremely guilty and sad over their avoidance behaviors related to feeling vulnerable and avoiding activities with others because they just don't feel safe due to the triggering of thoughts and emotions, and are unsure how to tell others. They are also well aware of cultural and military identity issues related to believing those who experience feelings of vulnerability are some how weak; further perpetuating their avoidance and enhancing a distorted poor self image and low self esteem. If a combat Veteran ever confides in you to tell you how vulnerable they feel, feel privileged, and listen to the wisdom they have earned.
