When soldiers return home from war everyone expects them to be the same person that they once were prior to the war. However, this simply cannot be because soldiers are exposed to the stresses of war and other things that a civilian would never be exposed to or would never understand.
There are certain things about war that are best left untold.
This idea that war irreversibly changes the soldier is supported by a Reddit post which posed the question “Soldiers of Reddit, what are things they don’t tell you about going to war?”. Many soldiers came forward and contributed their own thoughts about war. Some soldiers saw war as the point in their life that contains both their best and worst memories while others saw war as something that changes the soldier as a person. This change that a soldier undergoes when in war seems to be what unsettles some soldiers because life went on without them back home and when they return it can be hard for them to find a role or position that they fit in. This creates instances where the soldiers are too overwhelmed by the subtle changes that they take the only alternative that they feel that they have: suicide. Additionally, in war many soldiers held a position as a leader while back home no one really cares about your experiences, to the people back home you’re just another person who isn’t particularly special in any way.
Unfortunately, these soldiers won’t ever be the same after experiencing war.
Other ways in which soldiers change is their attitude towards everyday civilian life. Many perceive the civilian life and being boring and dull compared to their time spent deployed. Others have a hard time adjusting to civilian life due to PTSD which makes it very difficult for them especially when they can’t take part in some holidays, like Fourth of July, because it makes them nervous and triggers their PTSD. In the end, taking part in a war is a pivotal moment in the soldiers’ lives because it will truly change who they are as a person and there is no way of going back to who they once were.
Source: “Soldiers of Reddit, what are things they don’t tell you about going to war?.” AskReddit. Reddit.
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