The participants of combat action with relation to the tasks executed are exposed to experiencing traumatic events. This is first and foremost connected with the possibility of endangering health, while also confrontation with their own deaths and the deaths of other people. Such people face extraordinarily difficult challenges such as continuing actions aimed at the realization of the stipulated aims in situations of intensive stress. This type of events bring multiple negative consequences in the sphere of mental and physical health. They may be the source of anxiety, unease, insomnia, irritability and anger, symptoms of depression, or becoming involved in behaviour that is not beneficial to their health, such as among other things, the intensive use of alcohol [1].
Several types of strategies of coping with strong nervous tension and its repercussions are distinguished. These are as follows: active coping with stress (planning possible actions, searching for various possibilities of help, positive re-evaluation), helplessness (use of psychoactive substances, alcohol, ceasing of remedial action), searching for support (emotional and instrumental), avoidance behaviour (including: dealing with something else, denial, venting emotion) [2].
The ability to cope with stress is a significant part of the processes of self-regulation and the skill of adjusting the strategies of procedure to the requirements of the situation which a person is facing. This is also strongly individualized, which is illustrated by both scientific research and colloquial observations that highlight how people differ from each other [3].
Using alcohol (or other stimulants) with the aim of easing the effects of experiences of a traumatic nature constitutes a problem for a multitude of people who are involved in actions that endanger their safety, to a large extent soldiers and non-professional veterans of combat action [4]. Searching for relief and improvement of self-esteem by means of alcohol is treated as a non-constructive strategy in easing the psycho-physiological effects of stress, which improves self-esteem only for a brief period, after which it deepens the existing health, financial and social problems [5]. It is the source of problems over a long-term perspective as these phenomena may occur in interactions based on feedback, e.g. the abuse of alcohol may lead to conflicts – and conflicts increase exasperation, irritability and anger.
Some researchers note that not only soldiers, but other groups also face the consequences of post-traumatic stress. The occurrence of similar mental consequences have been noted in a group of medical rescuers, which is confirmed by research conducted in several countries [6]. Approximately half of British rescuers experienced intrusive thoughts, feelings of irritation, problems with sleeping and distancing themselves from other people [2]. Research conducted by Polish researchers indicates that almost half of them felt the impact of traumatic experiences in their professional lives and family lives. Simultaneously, the majority of medical rescuers analysed admit that extreme stress during rescue missions does not overcome their possibilities of adaptation and does not cause a reduction in their readiness to participate in future rescue missions [6].
The participants of combat action are frequently exposed to pain. Coping with pain and its consequences are of significance for our state of health [7]. Pain belongs to the strong stressors, in which the following components permeate: sensory, affective, motivational, cognitive [1,12]. Research illustrates that in terms of people who want to reduce the unpleasant experiences, there is a risk of developing an addiction [4,6]. The relation between health and coping with long-term stress and pain is widely analysed and widely documented in psychoneuroimmunology [8,9].
In accordance with the holistic paradigm that underlies psychoneuroimmunology, pain connects the physical and mental experiences that have a reciprocal impact on each other. People who are unable to deal with stress feel the acute effects of chronic pain and those who as a result of psycho-physical overload develop symptoms of depression [10]. Hence, the abuse of, for instance alcohol during feelings of helplessness may constitute a way to change the state of awareness with the aim of reducing the feeling of pain which ultimately makes depression more profound.
The differences in terms of attitudes towards pain (from complete helplessness to various types of feelings of effectiveness) are visible in the form of convictions – W (trust in personal management), L (faith in medical care), P (conviction about the case) [3]. These differences are particularly visible in situations of experiencing pressure, whose extreme example is participation in combat action.
Participation in this type of action, as well as the injuries incurred lead to the fact that the adjustment of the soldier to normal everyday life constitutes a challenge. A person in such situations instigates behaviour that is directed at coping with the consequences of traumatic events. Hence, it is important to become familiar with the relations and dependencies of the strategies of coping with stress and pain with the aim of preparing therapeutic programs. With relation to this fact, an attempt at an analysis was undertaken as to whether the specified type of strategies of coping with stress and pain are associated with the use of stimulants (primarily alcohol) among the group of hospitalized participants of combat action.
With regard to this fact, we concentrated on becoming familiar with the relations between the following:
- strategy of coping with pain type “W”, while releasing stress by means of various stimulants.
- availing of active constructive remedial strategies that are aimed at reducing the symptoms of nervous tension and the frequency of using alcohol.
- Strategies of coping with pain in patients and their diagnosis in the sphere of the basis of the ailments experienced.
The following hypothesis was put forward: trust in your own possibilities to cope with stress and the use of active strategies to cope with stress are associated with a lower consumption of alcohol.