Domestic violence is a problem we would like to see go away. How do we make it happen?? There are probably many many different thoughts on this but, The problem continues to escalate. We can teach women how to protect themselves from violemce but it does nothing to prevent the problem in the first place.
I am far from being an expert in this area but, I do feel qualified to discuss DV in Military families. I do feel I can shed some light in this area of DV. Military families, especially during war times are under a lot of stress. The military trains so that the soldier reacts to situations first instead of thinking about it first. This training is necessary to save lives in many situations. This training and war causes the military personnel to operate on a higher level of alert than a civilian would. Their reaction times are much quicker. Many different triggers can set off a reaction before it can be stopped. These triggers set off the fight or flight syndrome. In military personnel....... that becomes Kill or be Killed. Usually, someone is hurt or dead before that military person even knows what he did. The first few months after the return from war is the worst. After that the alert system will begin to adjust back to being in control. Many different things can dictate how long this process takes. Some of the things which can trigger reaction in a person just home from the war are: Touching him while asleep. staring at him while asleep. These two things can cause a quick death for the one who does this. Usually the loving wife. Many men are in prison because of this and its not their fault. Its the fault of their ingrained training and the war experience. When P.T.S.D. is added into the mix, it gets much worse. Having ptsd myself, I feel qualified to talk about it. Having PTSD is I think, comparable to SCI-FY movies where an entity enters and takes over control of a human host. When under the control of PTSD one is made to believe that no matter what you do, you are in the right and everyone else is wrong. You yourself can do no wrong. If someone does something or says something about you, Anger explodes from you and you go on high alert because the world is out to get you. Like alcoholics, you will only seek help when you yourself realizes you need help. In myself, it took from 1968 until 1994 before i would admit I needed help. Of course, PTSD was not reconized until 1984. Back to subject; when in the grasp of PTSD and an argument comes up with your spouse, trouble can quickly follow. If a spouse loses their temper and verbally attacks back, Anger erupts and DV becomes much more likely. This is where the military and society could make a very big diffence and prevent much of the DV in the military. The military tends to not recognize PTSD. If a soldier reports that he has it, the military will discharge him as unfit for military duty. This means he is not qualified for the medical and mental help he needs. A possible solution to DV in the military in my opinion would be the following: While a soldier is deployed to a war zone, provide the spouse with training as to what PTSD is. Teach them how to recognize it, what the symptoms of it are and how to best deal with it to reduce the outcome of it. This could be a joint program between military and civilian mental health Doctors. Often a soldier is discharged from the military within a week after arrival home because his enlistment is up. If the soldier was brought home with plenty of time for debriefing and training about PTSD before discharge, it would provide a cooling off period before settling back into civilian life. The soldier would be better ready for reintegration into his life at home.
Its good that there are groups who want to change things and stop DV. Usually those changes they want is to throw the perp in prison for life. There are times when there is no real fault of anyone involved. These cases must be investigated on a case by case basis. Better education as to what causes so much of the DV could save countless lives and heartbreak.
Robertb
Nicely written. Unfortunately there are many forms of DV and not all triggers are so easily identified. However, as it pertains to your example, this is my thought; the human mind and body is trainable and re-trainable. The soldier has served his/her country and was molded into a reactive machine. Upon release of active duty, whatever the cause, maybe the military should re-train the soldier. Wake him/her as they would be awoken by a spouse or a child, debate and argue with them as if they worked a customer service job. In general, re-accustom them to using thought verses action. It really should not be any harder or time consuming than training them to kill and it seems a small price to pay for someone who has put their life on the line for their country.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant post, Robert. You bring another facet to the complex issue of domestic violence, another of it's causes and possible solutions. I totally agree with you, that our soldiers must be somehow "re-trained" or debriefed before entering civilian life. It's not only for their own well being, but for the family and community.
ReplyDelete