Trauma · Core
Combat Trauma Worksheet
Map the load before opening a single memory
Combat trauma rarely arrives as a single memory. This page maps the load first — what intrudes, what is avoided, what the body still does — before any one event is worked, so nothing gets opened without a plan.
What intrudes
What comes back
How often
Trigger (sound, smell, crowd, date)
Intensity 0-10
What the body kept
- Scanning entrances, exits and rooftops without deciding to
- Cannot sit with my back to a room
- Startle at unexpected sound; anger arrives before thought
- Sleep broken, or only possible with noise or a weapon nearby
- Numb in situations that should matter
- Crowds, queues and traffic feel like exposure
What is being avoided
Places, people or conversations I route around
What avoidance is currently costing me
Before working a specific memory
Two things that bring me down from a nine, tested
Who I can contact tonight if something opens up
How stable I am this week, for pacing (0-10)
nonemost
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10
Screen for moral injury and TBI
If guilt or betrayal leads the distress, work the moral injury pages alongside this. If concentration, headaches and irritability dominate, ask about blast exposure and head injury before attributing everything to PTSD.