They may suffer post-traumatic stress disorder. Their ability to concentrate in school, their academics, social functioning, their relationships in general with people, may all be impacted.

There is the loss, there may also be feelings of guilt, feelings of whether there was anything they could have done.

[How does that affect his relationships?] It puts a stress on relationships, not just with partners but with mates. ... I wouldn't tell you if I was, so I could be lying. After all, I am an actor …

[How does that affect his relationships?] It puts a stress on relationships, not just with partners but with mates. ... I wouldn't tell you if I was, so I could be lying. After all, I am an actor …

I went to a psychiatrist (NBC insisted we all go) and told her I had been through traumatic experiences before and understood that the kidnapping would leave “fingerprints” on me for a while. The key was knowing what to expect. If you get blind drunk, you know you’re going to wake up with a hangover. By the same token, I expected post-traumatic stress symptoms—anger, irritability, a sense of isolation—and I experienced those feelings, off and on, for several months. It’s like having the monkey on your back again, and being self-aware helps shake him off.

When war is "over," it is never simply "over." The first war takes place during wartime. The second war, the far longer one, occurs when the fighting stops; this war is not over for years, most often for generations to come.

Notes

The Faithful Gardener (1995)