Combat Stress Reaction - Treatment - Predeployment Preparation - Training

Training

Stress Exposure Training or SET is a common component of most modern military training. There are three steps to an effective stress exposure program.

• Providing Knowledge of the Stress Environment

Soldiers with a knowledge of both the emotional and physical signs and symptoms of CSR are much less likely to have a critical event that reduces them below fighting capability. Instrumental information, such as breathing exercises that can reduce stress and suggestions not to look at the faces of enemy dead, is also effective at reducing the chance of a breakdown.

• Skills Acquisition

Cognitive control strategies can be taught to soldiers to help them recognize stressful and situationally detrimental thoughts and repress those thoughts in combat situations. Such skills have been shown to reduce anxiety and improve task performance.

• Confidence Building Through Application and Practice

Soldiers who feel confident in their own abilities and those of their squad are far less likely to suffer from combat stress reaction. Training in stressful conditions that mimic those of an actual combat situation builds confidence in the abilities of themselves and the squad. As this training can actually induce some of the stress symptoms it seeks to prevent, stress levels should be increased incrementally as to allow the soldiers time to adapt.