Apathy

One of the downfalls of a deployment is definitely the accompanying apathy that so easily befalls a person. Before deployment, it is hard to care about things, especially obligations. I've seen many soldiers (and myself) fall victim to apathy, especially in areas such as:

• Bills
• Homework
• Work
• Friendships
• Personal Hygiene and Fitness
• Military Bearing

When knowing that you are going to leave for such an extended period of time for military duty, it is often hard to care about other things. Other things sometimes feel unimportant, small, or meaningless.

Coming back from deployment oftentimes this apathy becomes even worse, and if not addressed can lead to major problems. It is easy to fall into the trap of feeling that everything in civilian life is so miniscule when compared to the pains of war. Why care about these small bills, or these finals when people are dying?

The fact of the matter, in the end, is that all of these daily things are important. Together they add up to the perceived value of your life, and if you don't put any effort or care into them, then its easy to feel that your life as a whole becomes worthless. Becoming complacent to these things is one of my biggest fears in deploying again.