How Loss And Grief Affects Military Veterans

While serving, they face death daily. They experience major grief over military brothers and sisters they witnessed lose their lives. There is also grief over civilians or enemy soldiers whose lives were taken due to the war. 

Most people only deal with grief from death a handful of times in their life. Military veterans are faced with death each and every day. 

Grief can also take the form of the loss of a relationship at home. Military life is not for the faint of heart and puts a strain on the strongest marriages and relationships. A recent analysis of U.S. Census Data from Zippia found the highest divorce rate was for first-line enlisted miliary supervisors.

They had a divorce rate of 30%. Many veterans experience loss from the battle itself and experience loss at home due to the stress and strain of the job.

Injuries are common among military veterans and come with their own kind of grief. Injuries can result in loss of their career and impact their day-to-day functioning and capabilities. This results in grieving over the loss of the life they envisioned and lived prior to the injury. 

Military injuries can be anything from hearing loss to a lost limb. It’s important to recognize how injury and grief connect together and are related to each other.

Statistics show veterans are at higher risk of suffering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from witnessing and experiencing traumatic events. PTSD can rob them of being able to function normally once returning home and cause issues in their relationships.

Veterans with PTSD will likely experience symptoms of prolonged and complicated grief. This includes unhealthy levels of guilt, emotional numbness, and feelings of emptiness. This kind of grief leads to loss of identity and isolation, because they feel like they can’t move forward from their grief. 

A shift or change in military rank can result in feelings of loss or grief. Whether due to injury or unforeseen circumstances, having to change rank can be a huge loss for someone serving in the military.  Many men and women spend years of service working their way up to positions with higher rank.

Due to the nature of the job, there are many obstacles that can derail and cause a change. These result in feelings of grief over the years of work put in and a loss of control over their own career path. 

When returning home from deployment, many military men and women are met with another battle that begins at home. Transitioning from life at war to normal civilian life at home is not easy. Many experience symptoms of PTSD and have spent months or even years away from their spouse or partner.

They are having to rebuild their relationships and normal day to day activities might seem overwhelming. This can result in feelings of anger or resentment along with grief over the things they might have lost while being away. 

Prolonged and complicated grief can cause symptoms of anxiety in military veterans. This includes anxious feelings and thoughts when their grief is triggered by things that remind them of the trauma they experienced. 

Anxiety can present itself in many ways and is unique for every person. Some veterans might struggle in large crowds or might struggle being alone.

Many veterans struggle with anger and irritability stemming from PTSD and trauma. Most have a difficult time identifying and processing their feelings. Connecting their symptoms to PTSD, trauma, and grief can prove to be a challenging process. 

If they do not have the right help and resources to help manage these emotions, they can take out their frustrations and anger on other people, because that is the only way they know how to cope. 

Panic attacks are a common occurrence for many military veterans. They are the result of prolonged grief, stress, anxiety, and trauma. These look like recurrent, unexpected episodes of intense fear or discomfort. 

Symptoms that may accompany panic attacks are heart palpitations, difficulty breathing, a racing or pounding heart, and numbness or tingling. This makes them feel out of control or even that their life is at risk. 

Complicated grief is something that many veterans experience. In complicated grief, painful emotions are severe and long lasting. They make it difficult to recover from the loss and resume your own life. 

One symptom of complicated grief is detachment from loved ones. It is difficult to carry out normal routines which results in isolation from others and withdrawing from social activities. 

Due to the level of trauma experienced, a loss of faith is not uncommon for veterans. It can be difficult to maintain spiritual practice when they have witnessed such severe pain and loss. A lack of faith results in a less hopeful outlook and consequently feeds into other unhealthy symptoms. 

Some research has suggested that approximately 14 to 16 percent of U.S. service members deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan have PTSD or depression. In addition to experiencing severe grief, reliving traumatic experiences makes it hard for some veterans to focus and carry out normal daily tasks. 

Depression can make them feel hopeless and they can lose interest in things they once loved. 

Only a veteran knows what they experienced during their deployment. Returning from duty means different things for each of them. Survivor’s guilt can be part of the transition from military to civilian life. 

Survivor’s guilt is a specific kind of guilt that develops when someone has survived a life-threatening situation. Some veterans feel like they could have done more to save the lives of others or that it is unfair that they got lucky, and others didn’t. 

In an effort to cope with the intense grief and loss, some veterans may result to unhealthy and addictive behaviors. These can include alcohol and substance abuse issues. Studies show that around 50 percent of people who have PTSD also have a substance use disorder.  

Developing addictive behaviors is something many veterans must be mindful of and work to avoid.

Finding the right support is something that you will need to invest time and effort in doing. Don’t be afraid to distance yourself certain people or systems that don’t feel like they are working for you. 

It may take time or going through a few different counselors to find the right fit for you. Finding community or a support group is something that can seem challenging at first, but is very beneficial to your overall grief and recover journey. 

Filling your time with work and activities you enjoy is important when processing through trauma and grief. Having an outlet to release emotions and fill time can help reduce the symptoms of PTSD, trauma, and grief. 

It can be challenging to put yourself out there and try a new hobby, but once you find something that works for you, it can be very beneficial to your overall mental health. 

Many veterans and those recovering from grief, PTSD, and trauma need a listening ear. They need someone to listen to them and hear their experiences. Sometimes just voicing and speaking their stories is an important part of the healing process. 

Joining a support group or meeting regularly with other veterans who are experiencing the same kind of grief and loss can be a great starting point. This gives an opportunity to voice your trauma and emotions with people who have an understanding and can be empathetic in a way others can’t.