[January 7, 2024] When I returned from my first combat tour in Iraq, it was common for people to ask me if I had Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or if I was somehow traumatized. Their thinking was pretty typical, being unfamiliar with the terror of combat. The reality is that returning combat troops are better than their former selves.
“What traumatizes people the most is malevolence, not tragedy.” – Dr. Jordan Peterson
My experience with people is that most of them can withstand tragedy quite well. I’ve seen people come together and thrive after a major tornado ripped through their town, flooding inundating their neighborhood, or during the recent C19 epidemic. I’ve seen them bounce back quickly from terrible natural disasters or unexpected personal financial failure.
I’ve also seen folks destroyed by malevolence.
“I’ve had a lot of clients who had PTSD, and without exception, every single one of them was induced by one form of malevolence or another. They have to develop a very sophisticated philosophy of good and evil to get out of it because they have a worldview in which those things don’t really exist.” – Dr. Jordan Peterson
I wanted to write about my observations for a long time now to help put the brakes on the stereotype of a soldier coming home from combat and going crazy and not having the ability to adapt back into society. And while that happens, the numbers are pretty small compared to others who return better than when they went.
And my point that the majority of those returning from combat are far better than when they deployed is no trivial thought. It’s real. Businesses prefer these veterans for hiring purposes because they make better employees. These veterans have a better grasp on reality, being hard-working, reliable, healthy, and happy. In addition, they are more likely to be married, have children, maintain proper weight, have good health routines, and other measures commonly recognized as societal success.
In several recent studies that attempt to determine if personality is a factor in PTSD, we find that there is a relationship. A study on OIF/OEF veterans noted that Post Traumatic Growth (PTG) can occur as some “individuals experience positive changes following trauma exposure.”1
Another study showed that “PTSD is positively related to negative emotionality, neuroticism, harm avoidance, novelty-seeking and self-transcendence, as well as to trait hostility/anger and trait anxiety.”2 As well, PTG is associated with “extraversion, conscientiousness, self-directedness, the combination of high positive and low negative emotionality, as well as with hardiness and optimism.” The latter also happen to be self-selection traits associated with military service.
This is undoubtedly not the last chapter on PTSD or PTG, but it does give my anecdotal evidence a boost. In my book “Our Longest Year in Iraq” (link here), I wrote about one incident where a small unit was sent home because too many of its members could not adapt to the stresses of combat.
Do I have PTSD? No. It also turns out that the personality traits I was formally evaluated for are linked to PTG. Maybe there is something to my combat observations after all.
—————
- Personality Factors and Their Impact on PTSD and Posttraumatic Growth is Mediated by Coping Style Among OIF/OEF Veterans – https://academic.oup.com/milmed/article/183/9-10/e475/4954085
- The Role of Personality Traits in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23013628/
—————
Please read my books:
Excellent job my friend.
Combat can have an impact on your life positive and negative..
Thanks for setting the lie straight to the trash can.
Thanks Billy and welcome to my blog.
Good news, I guess.
Well, I see what you mean by “I guess.” The question is what will the military do about it. From what I’ve seen, and studies in psychology have shown, there is little you can do about your personality type and the personality type is associated closely with your reaction to the trauma of the battlefield.
Another study showed that “PTSD is positively related to negative emotionality, neuroticism, harm avoidance, novelty-seeking and self-transcendence, as well as to trait hostility/anger and trait anxiety.”2 As well, PTG is associated with “extraversion, conscientiousness, self-directedness, the combination of high positive and low negative emotionality, as well as with hardiness and optimism.” — Gen. Doug Satterfield. Now that is a BIG deal. Yet, I’ve heard nothing, zero, zip about it.
Good news! I wonder, however, about the ethical issue of a formal policy that selects only those who have certain personality traits for combat jobs. I noticed, after reading a couple of these studies, that the very characteristics that survive the best in combat from a mental health standpoint are men, not women. Women possess those attributes that are MOST associated with PTSD. Strange how that works.
LM, that is a great comment and in the past, I have posed a similar concern. In fact, I brought it up to senior Pentagon officers and they stated there will be NO discrimination based on personality factors. But were they telling me the truth?
Indeed, sir, a question that needs an honest answer.
yes, there is a morality factor
Then, what do we do with that info?
Gen. Satterfield, I’m more happy to read this today and to know that combat can be a path to growth for many soldiers.
Gen. Satterfield, thank you for this very important blog post and I’m happy to know that there are ways to determine in advance whether some folks are more prone to PTSD or PTG. I’m glad you are among the PTG. 😊
Welcome to my blog tiny tim.
Hi folks, see Gen. Satterfield’s DAILY FAVORITES and the two artilces on SecDef Lloyd Austin who failed to tell the US PResident Joe Biden that he was out for 3 days getting surgery. Now, I admit that Joe Biden wouldn’t remember anyway but that is besides the point. When the boss is unavailable, proper communication and processes need to be put in place and this didn’t happen. This is just another reminder than when you hire someone for a high-level leadership role, don’t hire them on the basis of their skin color.
So true Looks like combat didn’t make Lloyd “diversity hire” Austin any better.
Are you surprised he failed to tell his boss? I”m not. Just another leftist doing his own thing. Don’t question his decision not to tell the President, or you are RAACCCCCISSSTTTTTT. 🤷♂️
Good one, Boy Sue. Even Gen. Satterfield has been writing for a long time now that Lloyd Austin is not up to the job. This is just more proof. He is in way over his head.
True facts!