Soldiers: Returning Home

Service members, wives, husbands, children and other, parents and other loved ones are all affected by the separation that is part that is part of serving in the military.  Returning home from being in combat in a country at war presents real challenges.  Everyone has expectations about homecoming and it is hard to anticipate what it will really be like.

Homecoming often challenges our closest relationship with the task of learning about each other they might also have the task about learning all over again.  You may notice moodiness, irritability, and anger outbursts.  There might also be difficulty establishing comfortable family routines and emotionally unavailabty. There is the potential for lack of concentration or pay attention to each other.

Therapy offers a safe place in which to talk and think about what each person experiences – the hopes and fears, the excitement and disappointments and even disturbing you might see in each other.  Family members can gain a deeper understanding of each other’s feeling and experiences and ease the transition home.

Many of the feelings and experiences that may be troubling you may start out as normal responses to the abnormal situation of war.  You may feel emotionally flat, you can’t relate to everyday concerns, you are hyper-alert and sensitive to your surroundings.  There are also problems sleeping and having nightmares, a feeling of not fitting in, you get tearful for no apparent reason, you get angry and blow up for no reason and more than before, you feel guilty, angry and ashamed while there is chronic physical pain.  Family member’s can also experience many of these feeling as well.

As mental health practitoners who understand the far reaching consequences of this war – related experiences we can provide the support that is needed to smooth transition to family and civilian life.