Chapter One - Readjustment How Have I Changed? Stress-None of us is above it nor too "strong" to not be affected by it. Everyone returning has to muster the courage to acknowledge it and do something about it. The greater the exposure to stress, the more readjustment difficulties you may experience later on. That’s a fact. Allowing yourself to be more aware of the changes you have undergone will help you: * Make sense of your thoughts, feelings, and behavior * Take effective action to improve your situation * Gain mastery over the experience * Function better both at work and with your family. Normal Reactions to an Abnormal Event Highly stressful events are common. A person may have killed, injured, or otherwise hurt another. You may have had the feeling that you would die or be seriously injured, or you may have witnessed such things happening to others. Such events are traumatic for any human being when there is limited or no control over the dangerous circumstances. It is important to remember that problems resulting from highly stressful events are NOT a sign of personal weakness. You are NOT "going crazy" or "losing it." This is the time to talk about what you are experiencing. You hear a lot about posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This Reintegration Action Plan (RAP) can help you avoid this difficulty or prevent it from affecting you indefinitely. If you take action and work your RAP (use your Buddies for support, use the VA and/or community counseling centers that are available to you), your readjustment will be faster and better. Do not try to "go it alone"; experienced professionals and those recovering from PTSD report this to be an unhealthy and even harmful approach. If you learned anything while you were in service, you should know that a service member always operates with a support team. It is common to have stress reactions to the trauma of war. The same is true for other disturbing events, such as sexual assault or rape. If earlier in life you experienced a traumatic event, then going through a trauma during your service can trigger reactions related to the earlier experiences. Even if they do not appear related, these experiences can cause common feelings of insecurity or a profound sense of loss. Some people react more severely than others in combat situations or to sexual assault, because the stress of the recent traumatic event can trigger stress reactions from the earlier traumatic events or losses. Don’t assume someone is weaker or "crazy" because that individual’s reactions are more severe than those of others. Some have entered the war zone with posttraumatic stress disorder already in play from trauma that could date back years, so their stress reactions may be compounded. The more trauma someone experiences and the more severe those traumatic experiences were, the more severe the posttraumatic stress reactions will be.