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F e a t u r e s STRESSED OUT


Group Captain Richard Castle PhD C.Psychol RAF Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff, Personnel Policy


M


ental ‘Stress’ is not a subject that sits easily with military service. It is not so long ago that


people within the Armed Forces who felt unable to ‘cope’ with the realities of warfare were labelled as lacking in moral fibre and dismissed to the margins. Indeed, many were dismissed from the Services or, at worst, shot for desertion or cowardice.


It is now generally accepted that many of those labelled as lazy or cowards in the previous generations were, in fact, going through an extreme reaction to the stresses associated with warfare. Sadly, these symptoms were not recognised.


Happily, even if the tempo of operations has again increased over recent years, the Armed Forces have acknowledged that more needed to be done to manage the stress that military service causes. This is true both in the operational context and also on the UK home bases. From our perspective, the RAF Stress Management and Resilience Policy has evolved to the point where, I believe, it is now meaningful. This article has two main themes; firstly, a reaction to high and/or ongoing levels of stress is normal so let us accept it and deal with it, and, secondly, families have a vital role in helping loved ones adjust to abnormal experiences, particularly on return from deployment.


Point one is that any occupation or situation causes mental activity and that is just as well or we would have no motivation to do anything. ‘Stress’ of course is when the demands placed upon the brain cause it to work extremely hard. I find it easiest to look at this in comparison with the physical side. If enough pressure is put on, say, an arm, then it will firstly hurt and then go on to become increasingly useless as the skin and muscle tear and the bone fractures or breaks. Pressure on the brain is, of course, not visible but if we can imagine the same sort of impact on the delicate sponges, tubes and vessels that carry and process our ‘thinking’ functions, then the changes in behaviour that emerge from someone who is ‘stressed out’ become more understandable (and, indeed, less threatening to the onlooker).


10 Winter 2008


So what are common sources of ‘stress’? Some will be linked to the work environment. Physical demands, level of responsibility, group pressures and managerial style clearly can raise, or lower, our levels of stress. But domestic factors also act as a source; living conditions, financial problems and family life events (such as births, serious illness and deaths) are likely to cause significant pressures. Where military service is unique is in the work-life balance – everything that happens to the Service person will have an impact on his or her nearest and dearest and we are all certainly aware of the impact of absences on family dynamics.


What is helpful, however, is to realise that the brain has the natural and inbuilt capacity to handle pressure very well. But in the same way that the skin and nerve endings protect the muscles and bones within our arms (eg it hurts so that, hopefully, we can remove the pressure), the brain sends out warning signs too before it ‘breaks’. I suspect most readers will the familiar with the symptoms of stress but, for those who are not, the most obvious early warning signs are sleeping and sexual difficulties, anger outbursts and out-of-character or impulsive behaviour. If the ‘pressure’ continues to increase, then these early signs can become more extreme and may lead to high blood pressure, alcohol misuse, depression and other (potentially serious) clinical disorders.


We also need to bear in mind that whilst stress can result from an accumulation of seemingly minor issues, people who experience a traumatic event can also be expected to react accordingly. This becomes particularly relevant for those deployed on operations. It would be quite likely, for example, for someone who came close to death or serious injury, or who witnessed a shocking scene, to need to take a ‘time out’ to allow themselves to re-adjust to normality. It would therefore be quite normal for some people returning from operations to take time to re-adjust to domestic life and, in the interim, to display some of the signs and symptoms outlined above. It is only if this period becomes prolonged, certainly beyond 3 months, that professional input may be required. In the interim, family members, partners and friends can really help by


understanding what is going on, treating it as normal and giving the Serviceman or woman the opportunity to re-adjust.


So what can spouses or partners do most to help? I would suggest, firstly, that when Service personnel come back from deployment everyone remembers that what is foremost in their minds is likely to cause more stress to the other. There is a great temptation for both sides to attempt to do too much too soon. Research tells us that, after the emotional outpouring that naturally comes with a homecoming, we need to allow for a period of calm for both ‘sides’ to get back to normality rather than to immediately heap additional stressors on each other.


Considerable work has done by the RAF over the past 2 years to identify the sources of stress within the way we operate, including a ‘Stress Audit’ in 2007. This has led to the publication of the RAF Stress Management and Resilience Policy (Air Publication 9012) in June 2008 which lays out, very clearly, how not only commanders but also individuals have a responsibility to recognise the sources and symptoms of stress and to take action to manage the effects. AP 9012 also points out the pivotal and positive role that family groups and partners can play.


There is a lot of detail in AP 9012 and my team and I are very happy to come and talk to audiences on the general principles. We have visited all UK stations over the past 18 months. We have also attended various meetings and conferences, and maintain a close link with SSAFA, Combat Stress and the RAF Families Federation amongst other organisations. In short, ‘Stress’ is a subject which is, very much, on the RAF Agenda.


www.raf-families-federation.org.uk


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