Research into the Cognitive Processes of Traumatized Soldiers

## Summary

Discovery of psychological trauma inflicted by both observed scenarios and the association between physical and psychological trauma, relation of the long-term effects as harmful entities. Objective: "To better understand the processes by which wounded or traumatized soldiers mentally recover from their stupor, both directly after a traumatizing incident and some time after."

## The Study

Hypothesis: It is my belief that, once sufficient study has been conducted, it will be demonstrated that soldiers undergo a sort of psychological stress, which is a product of a more animalistic, biological response, rather than anything directly controllable by their own actions.

Procedures taken in step-by-step basis (images optional):

With the grace of my colleagues at the Academy of Magic, I was able to gain access to some rather interesting patients for psychological study. The first of which went by the name “Belisarius”, and his medical records indicated that he would be a prime candidate for investigating psychological stress over time on a soldier. He is recorded as having been a veteran of the expeditions into the East, as well as the attack of the magma beast on Reinfell lands. Furthermore, he has experienced yet another traumatizing incident, reported on dutifully by the Academy, in which he was brutally beaten and lashed by his fellow soldiers and had to be hospitalized for well over a week. Via the use of my psychomancy, I was able to enter his mind, with his permission.

What I found most interesting about his experiences with these events was his complete lack of control over their recall. It seemed that no matter what he was speaking of, what emotions he was displaying or what tasks he was conducting, the memories of these events were always close at hand, and were recounted so vividly that even I began to feel fear at one point. When the patient was questioned about this, he claimed that he simply had to live with these thoughts, as avoiding them had become impossible.

Above all surrounding these thoughts were an air of fear, never-ending. It seemed to put a large damper on any positive emotions Belisarius experienced, and most importantly led to him attempting to drown out his fears with the self-destructive behavior of excessive drinking, which has no doubt taken a toll on him. Upon interviewing, he tells me the only way he has been able to overcome this “never-ending stress” is by spending time with his wife, Jesfani, who appears to emotionally anchor him.

Ironically, however, it seems that thinking of his spouse actually increases the stress in his mind, as he is reminded of all the horrible things he’s seen and done, and worries that the same could happen to her, or that she could be affected by them in some way. This has caused him to become overprotective and, at the same time, somewhat distanced, leading to a decline in their relationship.

My overall thoughts on Belisarius are that he is an interesting character, and that both his physical scars and, most importantly, his mind tell many stories, some of which are horrible and clearly unforgettable for those who have experienced them. My initial experiences with Belisarius spurred on my desire to research further into these issues, as the thought that this could be affecting a large number of the kingdom’s soldiers is a bleak one, but perhaps a realistic one.

The second soldier I interviewed was one Captain Bodin Lanley of House Reinfell. He was a veteran of the first expedition into the East, the assault on the Eastern Keep, held by the Crows. In his memories, I found once again the extreme and overarching reaction of utter fear, and once again, he had no conscious way to suppress these memories, forced to constantly relive them. The most prevalent memory in particular was that of his fellow Captain having been blown up by Crow defenders right next to him. What’s most interesting is that he experiences not only emotional reactions, but physical reactions - he describes his entire body tensing up during episodes of reliving the incident, and I learned that these episodes are spurred on by external stimuli which remind him of the assault, particularly birds (especially crows) and fire.

This is notable, as the irrationality of being afraid of birds and fire, two things which are only tangentially related to the Crows, indicates that the fear experienced during these episodes may stem from an irrational part of the mind, and could very well be outside of the soldier’s control. Additionally, he described changes in his relationships with close friends. Despite this, he wouldn’t elaborate, and described no changes in intimate/romantic relationships, or his sexual activity in general. However, by examining his memories, I determined this to be a lie - in reality, the patient has experienced greatly diminished sexual ability, and seems to be ashamed at this fact. My studies have indicated that this is not abnormal for those in his condition.

The third subject which I was able to interview was Captain Letholdus Hollow of the Lattish Royal Military. What was interesting about him was his unwillingness to cooperate - this was reminiscent of how the previous Captain Bodin Lanley did not wish to elaborate on how his experiences had affected his relationships. He did not submit to mental probing, and his answers to my questions were very brief and simple.

He stated that the battle he most vividly recalls was the attack on his patrol outside of elven territory, when a band of elves ambushed his patrol and shot him in the eye. Using sentences comprised of only about one or two words, he describes that they successfully recovered from the ambush and counter-attacked, leading to the destruction of the elven group.

It is my belief that the taciturn manner in which he describes otherwise extremely traumatizing experiences are informed by the same animalistic impulses which inform the “decisions” of the other soldiers interviewed. Perhaps over-exposure, coupled with fear over the events repeating, has led to him becoming extremely jaded to what should be very alerting external stimuli. Regardless, it could be said that his lack of cooperation spoke volumes about him and his mental state.

I was then able to interview a fourth subject, the “compagnon” to House Amirault’s “exemplar”, or champion, known as Erman Montier. What I found most interesting was the nature of this man’s work - simply by his position, he was expected to be a man full of bravery and entirely without fear. Because of this, the likelihood of him even admitting that he could experience the same symptoms which other soldiers have reported is low, and yet he was strangely forward with allowing me to probe his mind and seek weakness.

Sure enough, very similar symptoms were found. He was insecure about his fears and thus attempted to repress them, but this clearly did not work; the memories surrounding any traumatizing events were similarly fearful and clear, just as in other subjects. It should be noted that in all of my years of psychomancing, these are perhaps the clearest memories I have ever seen. It is as if the mind carefully took down every happening during a traumatizing period by rote, and then replayed it on loop endlessly.

Overall, Montier’s behavior very closely mirrored that of other subjects, and has led me to the conclusion that what I have now dubbed “soldier’s stress” is not a product of mere cowardice, but rather a naturally triggered mental state which comes after experiencing some event of great trauma.

Conclusion:

This study was very limited, unfortunately, due to the natural restrictions of interviewing soldiers, who are often uncooperative or unable to be accessed. However, it is my firm belief that this study has established a clear pattern on which further studies can be exacted, in order to better aid and develop the steps towards psychological recovery which our soldiers will need to return to battlefield effectiveness in an expedient manner.

Overall, it is my conclusion that within the minds of most traumatized soldiers, a sort of “animal man” takes control which ushers them to respond more towards their baser instincts - their irrational fear and their hopeless sadness, mostly - rather than to think through situations logically and clearly. It is most likely the case that this “animal man” is present within the minds of all men, but its activity within a soldier’s brain is spurred on by traumatic incident.

At the moment, I have made no conclusion as to how this illness can be treated, but further research must be conducted in order to discover any treatment, as clearly this issue affects quite a wide variety of soldiers. Additionally, I will most likely be studying civilians in the near future, in order to see if they, too, can suffer from this illness.

Due to the close associated nature of the prevalence of these animalistic reactions and intense trauma, such as battle, I have taken to name this disease of the mind “soldier’s stress”, pending further review. More research is needed for a more stable and solid conclusion.