Israel Must Support Families of Reservists, Not Just Soldiers

Recent suicides among Israeli reservists highlight a critical gap in mental health support: the neglect of their families. While attention is rightly focused on the trauma and burnout of reservists returning from combat, the strain on their home lives often goes unaddressed, according to Rotem Shimla, head of the emotional division at the Forum of Reservists' Wives.

Shimla explains that the cracks leading to a reservist's breakdown often appear long before a crisis. Partners observe changes in behavior, such as sleep disturbances, irritability, withdrawal, or emotional absence. Children sense the shift, recognizing the tension and fear of future call-ups. Meanwhile, spouses are left to manage the household and explain the reservist's absence, often without knowing when they will return.

The transition from the front lines to home is difficult for both the returning reservist and their family. The reservist may exhibit anxiety, detachment, mood swings, or difficulty functioning, sometimes appearing fundamentally changed. The article argues that the current mental health system's approach, waiting for the individual to explicitly ask for help, is insufficient, as those in distress are often the last to seek assistance.

To address this, the article advocates for accessible "resilience centers" specifically for reservists' families. These centers would offer support not just to the reservist after a decline, but directly to spouses who notice changes at home, children struggling with a parent's return, and couples facing strain from prolonged service and uncertainty. The goal is to recognize families as bearing a significant cost of the war and to provide systemic support, rather than placing the burden of the reservist's recovery solely on them.

Shimla emphasizes that partners cannot be therapists, children cannot be early warning systems, and families cannot substitute for professional mental health services. The responsibility for identifying distress and providing care must lie with the system, not the family. The recent tragic cases should prompt a re-evaluation of where the system could have intervened earlier, recognizing that prevention begins long before a person reaches a breaking point, when the home environment starts to erode and the returning soldier struggles to reintegrate.