How do people in wars not rapidly evolve?

[Starman]

Altair, considering what you have said; things may get much worst before they get better. I say this because in my lifetime the population of this world has more than doubled, and the more people in this world, the more resources, land, etc., will be needed to accommodate a rapidly growing human population. We can see this is the massive migration which is taking place in the world today. People fleeing war, poverty, and oppression. Yes, I do agree, that generally people do minimize war in a myopic way; not acknowledging other dimensions of war that do not involve human armies.

[CosmicWonder]

Hey Starman,

Wonderful story about an ugly set of experiences... I admire how nuances and with understand and consideration you share your story. It seems you really did a lot of inner work.

Kind regards,

CW

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by Starman

[b] We can see this is the massive migration which is taking place in the world today.

In the USA and in some other countries, some people are "migrating" from homes/apartments to tents, etc. Those people probably face many of the same issues that civilians face in war torn lands.

In order to survive, some seem to rely on some 'spirits'/inner gut feelings/etc. to give them guidance and direction. Some of that guidance and direction might not be that good but for them, it is all they got.

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by Altair

Hi Starman,

But war is a fight over resources (food, water, habitat, even ideologies are resources in a way, giving meaning to communities and fighting over flock). Without what we generally call war, there is a fight through other means such as the economy.

We can't have a natural world with species wanting to survive and compete over finite resources without war.

To me, many countries need wars: their economies seem to be based on war. End war and we probably would have a major depression: the likes we have never seen before.

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by CosmicWonder

Point is, people dont understand ptsd until they have it. Even now in modern age, there is a lot of stuborn misunderstanding

I agree with you. People don't understand what you are saying unless they 'wear the boots of the one with PTSD".

As for me, I have/had PTSD.

It all began when 4 nice young men, with real machetes, tried robbing me.

I still remember looking at the second person's machete which had some brownish-red stuff on it. Later, I found out that brownish-red stuff was HIV positive blood.

I saw the owner of that blood arrive at the Emergency Room at the Hospital. We thought he was dead. They had cut both sides of his neck and then brought a machete down on the top of his head.

[Starman]

Not everyone who has had a traumatic experience has ptsd; PTSD is a psychiatric diagnosis. I had ptsd but it has dissipated and I do not have ptsd today. Lots of people faced with a traumatic situation do not experience post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd), and many who have been diagnosed with ptsd do find their way out of that disorder.

I am amazed at little kids who grow up in war torn nations, many who do not exhibit any symptoms of ptsd.. People who are brutalized in their society, like black Americans who marched for civil rights long before there was any such thing as ptsd. People in South Africa, Haiti, and elsewhere who experienced trauma and oppression may not have any such thing as ptsd in their healthcare system. Personally I think the term ptsd is overused, just like the term ADHD is overused. People do self diagnose but I do not advocate that.

As I said, I used to have ptsd, was officially diagnosed in the early 1980’s when the term PTSD was first created, but today I do not have any ptsd symptoms. People who have a solid support system or those with a deeper connection with themselves, often do not experience ptsd regardless of the trauma they have been exposed to. Trauma effects different people differently.

[Gem]

I was subject to lots of violence back in the day, and it's not the events but the constant threat of knowing every so often something is gonna happen. It's just part of life in some places. It means you are always on your toes, and that eventually starts to get under your skin. Then, even after even you go somewhere safe, you still act as if the boogy man is about to jump out at any time. After living in a safe place for a while, I gradually let down my guard and started to relax.

[CosmicWonder]

@Starman,

I find self diagnosis with trauma (not necessarily as a real diagnosis, but as "this happened and I need help") very normal and healthy. I also find it normal to call it trauma if thats what it is to you. This not because I advocate self diagnosis. But because people know very well, and often too late, when they suffered through trauma and got stuck. Its very very clear usually. Then there is always a group calling it trauma for whatever other reasons, but these may have something going on anyway.

Its like grief or like heartbreak. You cant tell someone it "isnt so bad". It doesnt help. And depending on a certified professionel, and the idea of proof, is costy and a long road. At times it can take years for a diagnosis and these can feel like lost years in the dark.

Then there is the actual diagnosis apart from that, and that is specifically to get treatment (for survivors its also important recognition).


@BigJohn,

Thats a very intense account. I wish you well and that you have a good day. Take care. I see that you have prob done some work on these things, and I believe you are very strong.

Kind regards,

CW

[AngelBlue]

My father lost his mother in WW2 during the blitz. He was 6, eldest of 3 boys and his Mother was just 26.
Just 12 years later he was fighting in a war in Kenya in the mau-mau uprising.
Needless to say, as with any war , he witnessed such atrocities that realistically could never be spoken about , especially to us, his children.
But as he got older it became apparent that there were two things during his life that he never got over.
One being the loss of his his adored mother, and the other being the mau mau soldier he killed at dawn while on watch duty .
The soldier was indeed a mau mau soldier complete with combat gear and machine gun.
But when it turned out it was a teenage female with a baby on her back in a baby carrier.
My father's bullet killed them both.
These two acts alone , the blitz , and his one bullet , took 3 victims in his personal life/ journey.
I cannot say I ever witnessed or believed him to suffer from PTSD , but I know these events affected him deeply to the point he spent the rest of his working life trying to save lives instead of destroy them working his way up all the ranks of the fire service.

But he was never spiritual. Couldn't abide it. Refused to talk about it.
He passed away last may aged 87 .

[Starman]

AngelBlue, things like that happen in war and most war veterans do not talk about their war experiences, especially to non-veterans; it is thought that they would not understand. I’ve got lots of war stories that I do not openly share, but I do share them with other veterans and they share theirs with me.

War is pure hell. Often when a war comes to a country the economy in that country crashes, lots of females will turn to prostitution, and also rape and other violence, besides what is happening in the war, will take place. Often there is little to no civilian authority, lots of crime often goes unchecked in a war zone, and the country is thrown into military law, or Martial Law which puts the military in charge of the civilian population.

Civilization disappears in war torn nations, it is chaos and fatal mistakes do happen. Each soldier has to emotionally deal with those kind of mistakes and not beat themselves up over it. I remember a Vietnam veteran who was a devote Christian and he was really torn up over having taken life in Vietnam. He strongly thought that he was going to “hell” for killing people and nothing I said would change his mind. Unfortunately war happens and there are lots of things that happen in a war.