IDF Spokesperson revealed his post-trauma: "I don't know what damage I caused to my family"

IDF Spokesperson, Brigadier General Efi Defrin, revealed in an army podcast that he has been dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder following his military service, during which he was severely wounded in the Battle of Wadi Saluki during the Second Lebanon War.

"It took me a very long time to understand what I had, because it is not a regular injury. 'Post-trauma' sounds like some kind of curse, a type of madness. It is not a regular injury. I remember that at the beginning they asked me, 'What do you have? You are not missing an arm, you are not missing a leg.' It is an invisible injury, you don't see it on you. It is something you carry deep inside and it affects your behavior."

According to Defrin, there are phenomena that can harm those around you even if you do not manage them properly. "If you are aware of it and know how to take care of yourself, you help not only yourself, but also your immediate family, your subordinates, the people who work with you, and those around you. It is important for me to say to those who were in battle, especially after this long war that has been going on for almost three years: first of all, take care of yourself. If you are a hero, if you are brave — go take care of yourself."

Defrin revealed: "I told the soldiers that I returned to the battalion and suppressed it. And it hurts. I don't know what damage I caused to my environment and my immediate family. I raised wonderful children, but I am sure that I influenced them to one degree or another. I am their father. And I treated myself, and I stopped, and I treated, and I returned."

When asked how the treatment helped him, Defrin replied:

"There are wounds that you don't get rid of. It is not just the moment they shot at me and hit me, no, it is many phenomena. It is not for nothing that it is called post-trauma. It is an event where the body is under pressure and feels that it is not going to survive the situation, and this happens several times. And when you rise from this thing, it accompanies you for very many years."

According to him, triggers vary: "The most famous thing is slamming doors. They drive me crazy. I am here at Camp Aviv and always comment to the gardener with the leaf blower, it also drives me crazy. For everyone, it is expressed in other ways. I remember myself at the beginning, when I still didn't understand: you are driving in the summer and suddenly there is a flash of sun that freezes you for a second, and you feel that you are in a tank now and they are shooting at you. And you are in the middle of Tel Aviv, on a beach or anywhere else that it can meet you."

"When you are aware of it and know how to take care of yourself and overcome these moments, then it helps a lot," concluded Defrin.