[xmlenigma]

Wonder why this did not get a lot of responses and got buried..

At war, focus, Sense of purpose, camradarie, Warrior Mindset, Do or Die.

(10-26-2016 11:55 AM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  

I think it's easy to look at these photos and project meaning on them because they are already placed in a particular order. Look at them again and imagine how you would have perceived them if they were rearranged and you were told that was the proper sequence instead.

How would you read their expressions then?

Anyhow, there was an interesting guy, a war journalist named Sebastian Junger, interviewed in a Tim Ferriss podcast (http://fourhourworkweek.com/2016/05/22/s...-junger/). He talked about how some studies are beginning to suggest PTSD is not so much about what a man has seen and done as it is about losing the sense of belonging and male carmraderie that comes with war. Of being involved in a tribal unit, as is natural with humans, and then being put back into a society where you're pretty much left to your own devices.

To emphasize this point, he points out that PTSD doesn't correspond with greater trauma and often affects soldiers who never saw any action the most. It also tends to hit harder when you have less cohesion to help you face the trauma. For example, men who are part of elite units tend to experience less PTSD (I'm just relaying his points here - not trying to insult anyone who may have a more intimate experience with the residual effects of hard combat).

He also discusses how trauma isn't related to the level of danger you experience but rather to the level of control you have, so the more highly trained you are the less you are affected psychologically. A side note, but interesting nonetheless.

As LINUX suggests with his tongue-in-cheek comment, much of PTSD may be caused by the life you return to rather than what you left behind.

I think it has to do with "what next" and whether they are able to find purpose & direction or not..

[Rush87]

(09-04-2016 08:34 PM)fiasco360 Wrote:  

Does anyone see any photoshopping here?

What about different lighting conditions? Pupil dilation?

Regardless, in war time the men look like they are on high alert.

They're photoshopped to varying degrees. For instance, the middle photos have a higher contrast filter which is why they 'pop' more than the first and third images.