Traumatized men. After a mission abroad, many soldiers return not only physically wounded, but also psychologically. To help them overcome the post-traumatic stress they are suffering, a specialized Army house welcomes about sixty soldiers in Aix-les-Bains, in Savoy.
These houses, called Athos, house a total of more than 300 military personnel in the country. France currently has 4 of them. In addition to Aix-les-Bains, there is one in Bordeaux, in the Gironde, one in Toulon, in the Var, and another near Auray, in Morbihan.
Group activities as therapy
In Aix-les-Bains, rake in hand, Julien, a first sergeant in the army, gets to work in his little garden. For him, this activity was a true discovery and a form of therapy, after the violent scenes he faced during external operations.
“When I scratch the floor, it frees my mind and stops me from thinking about the past,” she tells BFMTV.
Julien fought for over 18 years for the French Army. During all these years, he was on almost all fronts. Witnessing violent scenes, the first sergeant then returns to France without post-traumatic stress, detecting in him that severe anxiety disorder that appears after a person has lived through a traumatic experience.
“I fell seriously into alcohol,” he says, very emotional, into our microphone.
After having gone through a difficult period, Julien manages to get ahead. “I was weaned and since that day, in 2015, it is zero alcohol,” he says.
A healthy and suitable environment.
As of now, his disorder has been diagnosed and he is accompanied on a psychological level, in Aix-les-Bains. An environment adapted to each soldier. “We come here, everyone has their problems, their addictions, their medications,” Julien explains.
Despite this help, you have to be patient. “It’s not that we come to this house that we don’t have a nightmare,” stresses the soldier, who assures that he “always feels that sword of Damocles” over his head, telling him to “pay attention to tomorrow.”
However, he wants to be optimistic: “the days go by and the work pays off.”
“The feeling of having failed”
Also an army sergeant, Simon is a regular at this Aix-les-Bains house. Arriving in September, he manages, after long months of psychological work, to take a step back from the traumatic events he has experienced. “It was the house of Athos that allowed me to project myself in the sequels,” he says.
The soldier previously went through periods of doubt and strong interrogations. “We have the impression of having failed in the mission because the mission was to hold out, to serve France for as long as possible,” he admits.
“When we let go, we have the impression of having personally failed and, at the same time, we have a feeling of abandonment by our partners that is also difficult to accept,” he believes.
“Relink”
In addition to gardening, the patients at the Aix-les-Bains home increase their activities throughout the day, with the daily presence of six guides.
“We help them to remobilise, to recreate a link with their local environment, their family, some with the regiment, others on the contrary will no longer want to see their regiment. We respect the temporality and the needs of each one”, explains René Debuire, director of the Athos house in Aix-les-Bains.
After this stay, few of these soldiers plan to return to the field for a new mission. The Ministry of the Armed Forces plans to set up 10 houses of this type throughout the country.
Source: BFM TV
