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While returning home might seem like the easy part, for many veterans, the transition back to civilian life after months in a war zone is almost as difficult as the deployment itself.
In Warrior Withdrawal, Varpas de Sa Pereira, PsyD, explores this phenomenon by describing his own experiences with combat and the stories of veterans struggling to adjust to "normal" life.
When Varpas, a US Marine, returned home after a tour in Iraq, it wasn't the restful break from gunfire and taking orders that he had hoped. He was irritable and angry and itched to return to the battlefield. After his eighth tour to a combat zone, he tried to treasure the precious time he had with his wife and kids, but he couldn't get the clarity of purpose he'd had while deployed out of his mind.
After deploying several more times, searching for some "thing" he was missing, he finally retired and went back to school to study clinical psychology. It was then that he realized what he had experienced was not abnormal. Many veterans, for whom being a warrior is ingrained in their psyche, struggle to adapt to life outside the military, often leading them to mental health challenges. Varpas coined this as Warrior Withdrawal Syndrome and now works as a psychotherapist to help veterans facing difficulties in their newfound lives.
Whether you're a veteran or a loved one of a veteran, Warrior Withdrawal is a fantastic tool to help you understand the effects of combat on servicemen as well as work to overcome the desire for deployment.
A propos de l'auteur
Varpas de Sa Pereira has over fifteen years of military service as well as six years of psychology education and practice. He is currently a staff psychologist at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), where he provides mental health care to veterans and their families. He holds a PsyD in Clinical Psychology from The Chicago School and a BA in Mathematics from Boston University. As a former Marine Corps and special operations officer, Varpas has a unique understanding of the warrior culture and the challenges faced by veterans returning from combat zones. He has developed and refined Warrior Withdrawal Syndrome, a framework for identifying and treating the psychological effects of transitioning from a high-stress to a low-stress environment. He established and facilitated a psychoeducation group for veterans with the syndrome and provided consultation and training to other VA staff on how to better serve this population. Varpas is passionate about helping veterans heal and thrive in their civilian lives. Originally from New England, Varpas currently lives in the greater Los Angeles area with his four children. He still works with special operations forces on assessment and selection.
