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Articles by Ezenwa E. Olumba Ph.D
The Lucky Bastard Club
The most troubling part of all this is that I actually liked being in Afghanistan. I didn’t want to leave. For the first year or so after we got back, I spoke openly and bluntly about the experience. Eventually, however, I started to notice a pattern: Whenever I talked about it, I’d leave the conversation feeling ashamed and become increasingly anxious over the rest of the day. So, I decided to stop bringing it up.
The Lucky Bastard Club
Find a therapist near me Guilt involves perceived responsibility and can also come from surviving traumatic event that others did not. Veterans may feel shame and anxiety when discussing their wartime experiences. Cognitive immobility can help us explain why some veterans remain mentally attached to war zones. The most troubling part of all this is that I actually liked being in Afghanistan. I didn’t want to leave.
Leaving Romania, but Never Fully Leaving Home
Physical migration does not always mean psychological departure from home. Cognitive immobility traps migrants in mental ties to their homeland, causing unresolved longing. Returning home doesn't always heal emotional separation; it may deepen longing and sadness. "I left, but my soul stayed here. In my free time, I could think of nothing but home. Even while caring for my baby, my thoughts were always on returning; everyone wondered why I came back.
Leaving Romania, but Never Fully Leaving Home
Take our Depression Test Find a therapist to heal from grief Physical migration does not always mean psychological departure from home. Cognitive immobility traps migrants in mental ties to their homeland, causing unresolved longing. Returning home doesn't always heal emotional separation; it may deepen longing and sadness. "I left, but my soul stayed here. In my free time, I could think of nothing but home.
Coming Home From War: PTSD May Not Tell the Full Story
PTSD may not fully explain the severe challenges that some veterans experience after retuning from war zones. Returning home physically after a life-threatening situation does not always mean coming home cognitively. Cognitive immobility can leave us psychologically anchored to a life that has ended. Cognitive immobility may help us better understand and support struggling veterans. … we keep focusing on trauma, PTSD. But for a lot of these people, maybe it’s not trauma.
Coming Home From War: PTSD May Not Tell the Full Story
Take our Depression Test Find a therapist to heal from trauma PTSD may not fully explain the severe challenges that some veterans experience after retuning from war zones. Returning home physically after a life-threatening situation does not always mean coming home cognitively. Cognitive immobility can leave us psychologically anchored to a life that has ended. Cognitive immobility may help us better understand and support struggling veterans. … we keep focusing on trauma, PTSD.
When the War Comes Home
Jos, a 31-year-old army veteran, smashed his Xbox during an argument with his wife, according to a news report. He was surprised when a neighbour called the police and reported the incident as domestic violence. His wife had not contacted the police because she understood the difficulties he had faced since returning from deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq. Jos was later charged with a domestic violence offence. His experience points to a wider problem.
When the War Comes Home
Take our Depression Test Find a therapist to heal from trauma PTSD explains trauma symptoms, while cognitive immobility describes how war can continue to shape daily life. Cognitive immobility involves remaining psychologically anchored to past places and experiences. Veteran support should address trauma, identity, civilian adjustment, and the struggle to feel at home. Jos, a 31-year-old army veteran, smashed his Xbox during an argument with his wife, according to a news report.
Why Leaving Home Doesn't Always Mean Moving On
Sometimes we miss a place because it holds part of our identity. Leaving a place does not always mean we have cognitively left it. Sometimes we grieve places because they have become part of who we are. Healing often begins by accepting loss rather than reclaiming the past.
Why Leaving Home Doesn't Always Mean Moving On
Sometimes we miss a place because it holds part of our identity. Leaving a place does not always mean we have cognitively left it. Sometimes we grieve places because they have become part of who we are. Healing often begins by accepting loss rather than reclaiming the past.
What Keeps Us Connected to the Dead?
There are three hydrangea heads there and there is also a red rose, which I swear wasn't there on Sunday. So somebody has been here since I put my flowers there on Sunday. It's not even just flowers. One year, there was a massive sheaf of corn, a pheasant's feather, a big tail feather, it was. It is something I really dearly would love to solve. These are the words of Ann Kear as she stood in a graveyard beside the headstone of her brother, Karl Smith, who drowned in 1947.
What Keeps Us Connected to the Dead? - Ezenwa E. Olumba Ph.d
Take our Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Test Find a therapist to heal from trauma. Childhood trauma can shape a person’s entire life. Grief can keep relationships alive long after death. Small acts of remembrance can carry deep emotional meaning. Closure can come through connection, not answers alone. There are three hydrangea heads there and there is also a red rose, which I swear wasn't there on Sunday. So somebody has been here since I put my flowers there on Sunday. It's not even just flowers.
Why Some Places Never Leave Us
Have you ever travelled somewhere unfamiliar and felt something change inside you as soon as you arrived? Or, when it was time to leave, were you hit with an overwhelming sense of sadness and longing? After leaving, did you find yourself unable to stop thinking about your experiences there? This was Jason Bennett’s experience. Jason, originally from California, was a senior marketing executive and had worked with Gap Inc. according to a CNN report.
Why Some Places Never Leave Us - Ezenwa E. Olumba Ph.d
Some places can become so emotionally powerful that leaving them feels like a personal loss. Memories of meaningful places can deepen longing when people cannot return in person. Cognitive immobility can contribute to anxiety, insomnia, exhaustion, and depression. Understanding our feelings better can help us make wiser choices about belonging. Have you ever travelled somewhere unfamiliar and felt something change inside you as soon as you arrived?
Strange New Wounds in US Soldiers Who Never Saw Carnage
Trauma can come from imagining destruction, not just from seeing it firsthand. Remote warfare can cause psychological wounds that are not always visible. Memory reconstructs the past; it does not simply replay it. Veterans need care not only for combat injuries but also for what they remember, imagine, and cannot let go.
Strange New Wounds in US Soldiers Who Never Saw Carnage
Take our Depression Test Find a therapist to heal from trauma Trauma can come from imagining destruction, not just from seeing it firsthand. Remote warfare can cause psychological wounds that are not always visible. Memory reconstructs the past; it does not simply replay it. Veterans need care not only for combat injuries but also for what they remember, imagine, and cannot let go.
Why We Can Struggle to Leave the Past Behind
Some time ago, I read a piece on Medium recounting the story of a pike, described as an “aggressive predatory freshwater fish.” The pike was placed among smaller fish but separated from them by a bell jar. The pike repeatedly tried to attack and make a meal out of them, but failed each time because of the barrier, leaving it with nothing more than a bruised nose. But when the bell jar was removed, the pike still did not attack them.
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