A new study conducted in the last two years among combat veterans from field units, revealed that almost 93% of them reported that they were exposed to a potentially traumatic event during their military service.
This event often involved injury to their body or that of others.
The study was conducted by Dr. Shai Schorer, a clinical social worker specializing in post-trauma treatment, Dr. Miki Weinberg and Prof. Miri Cohen, researchers from the School of Social Work at the University of Haifa.
Within the framework of the findings, 65% of the subjects reported minor post-traumatic symptoms, approximately 14% reported post-traumatic symptoms at a full clinical level, and approximately 21% reported post-traumatic symptoms at an incomplete diagnostic level.
That is, they are noticeable but not at a clinical level.
This means that about 35% of the discharged fighters experience post-traumatic symptoms at one level or another.
The symptoms reported by the participants in the study included: depression, anxiety and somatization (feeling physical symptoms that appear as a result of psychological problems).
"These are disturbing data," says Dr. Schorer. The study was conducted on 624 soldiers who participated in the trips of the "For Tomorrow" association, which helps discharged soldiers process and deal with the experiences of service and combat. Its results will be presented at a seminar to be held next Monday at the University of Haifa, alongside innovative studies more in the field of treating victims of mental trauma.
"unspecified distress"
The ages of the participants in the study ranged from 24 to 55, with the average age of the researched being 32. None of the participants in the study was diagnosed by the authorities as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), so the results can indicate a situation according to which the number of fighters who are released from and are dealing with post-trauma higher than the official data of the state. From the results of the study it can be concluded that a significant number of fighters are dealing with daily emotional distress manifested in feelings of despondency and anxiety, as well as with changes in the perception of the world as a safe place which may affect the rest of their lives.
Despite the high percentages of emotional impact that the participants reported, only 12% of them testified that they were injured.
"The level of their symptoms does not meet the criteria for the medical diagnosis of PTSD, but it certainly constitutes a significant impairment in their functioning and quality of life," says Dr. Schorer, who also serves as a supervisor in the "For Tomorrow" association. "The research illuminates the need to direct treatment and rehabilitation resources to that A group of fighters who have no answer.
They suffer from hardship, but the supposed hardship is not defined."
"They have no answer."
IDF soldiers, photo: Reuters
"Go on a liberation journey"
In the follow-up meetings after the trips, about three months after them, almost 70% of the respondents reported that they are now open to talking, sharing and processing the experiences of military service in different ways.
Some participants do this through personal relationships with friends and family, and some turn to psychotherapy.
These days, the association is embarking on a mass recruitment campaign under the title "Recruiting for Tomorrow", so that it will be able to take out additional trips for approximately 2,500 men and women fighters who are on the waiting list.
Tomer Freibach, CEO of the association "Recruiting for Tomorrow", says that "the demand for trips is tremendous", and as a result the waiting lists are getting longer and longer. "We want to give everyone the opportunity to go on a liberation trip", concludes Freibach.
"We didn't talk about it."
Elad Lavran, 39 years old from Ofra
Elad Labran (39), a resident of Ofra, married and the father of three daughters, participated in the campaign of the "For Tomorrow" association about three years ago.
It was almost 14 years after he was released.
Now, he candidly shares his experiences from his military service and the trigger that made him realize how much he suppressed what he experienced.
"The activity was quite routine," Lavern says, "in the middle of combat activity we became a ZAKA team.
We tried to collect as many body parts of the dead as possible so that we could bring them for burial."
In the first incident, an APC that was part of an armored force of Givatay that entered Gaza was hit by an explosion. In the second incident, an APC belonging to the elite unit of the Engineering Corps was blown up during an operation on the Philadelphia route on the Egyptian border.
Five soldiers were killed, and Golani soldiers were sent together with the members of the military rabbinate to search the area and locate the remains.
"Don't be afraid of the elephant in the room."
Elad Lavran,
"We didn't talk about it that much, not even between us," he confesses, "it was clear to us that this was not a normal event. Only a decade later, at Oron Shaul's event, it hit me. For half a day I was in a great storm of emotions. I realized that something was wrong OK, I was shocked, I was afraid it might erupt again."
Following this, for the first time and about 11 years after his release, he contacted the representatives of the association and began the process of dealing with the wounds of the past.
"The journey gave me the ability to share, and not be afraid of the elephant in the room."
"When I was released I suppressed everything" |
Ben, 29 years old from the center of Haaretz
Ben (29), a resident of the center of the country, married and the father of two, enlisted in the Golani and participated in Tzuk Eitan.
Every year on July 20, he stays at home, struggling to deal with the memories of the battlefield.
On this day, he lost seven of his comrades in the battalion, among them his close friend Shawn Carmeli, the late, who was killed by terrorists in the battle in Shejaia where the body of Oron Shaul was also kidnapped.
"After the battle, we returned to activity, when I was released, I suppressed everything," he says.
Three years ago his condition changed and deteriorated.
He began to suffer from body aches, lack of sleep, sweating, nightmares.
"I fought a lot with my wife and the children, I got angry about everything. My condition deteriorated completely, and the tics were already a daily thing. I started to suffer from anxiety and found myself disconnecting from the house, suffering tantrums against the children and my wife. Everything made me jump," he says.
During a trip abroad with his wife, he experienced a fit of rage, during which he broke the things in the hotel. "I wanted a divorce because I felt it was better for me to be away from them.
I was afraid I would hurt them."
The preparation process was long, and Ben went on a journey for the "For Tomorrow" association.
He was referred for diagnosis, at the end of which he was told that he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
"When the journey was over, I decided to make a change, slowly come back to myself and share with my wife. I wrote a diary of everything I went through and let her read. I became a different father."
He recently developed a support program for combat victims in collaboration with the municipality in the town where he lives.
"I want to help those who want and don't know how."
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