What happens when the mission never ends?
Readiness, Trauma, and the Cost of Never Standing Down.
As the British Army moves to high readiness in response to growing tension with Russia, the headlines focus on defence, politics, and logistics. But beneath the surface, there's a deeper question — one that matters far beyond the battlefield: what happens to the body and mind when you're never allowed to stand down?
This is not just about soldiers.
It's about survivors. Veterans. Emergency responders. Trauma survivors of every kind. Anyone whose nervous system has been trained — or forced — to stay alert, to scan the horizon, to live in anticipation of impact.
Readiness is not neutral.
To be ready is to be braced.
To be braced is to be tense.
And prolonged tension rewires everything — attention, sleep, digestion, memory, relationships.
This is what we mean when we say the body keeps the score. Because the body doesn't need war to feel under threat. It just needs unresolved trauma. And when that trauma is left untreated, a headline about foreign conflict is enough to spike the system.
You don't need to be in uniform to be on alert.
You just need a past that hasn't left your body.
I’m Roger Hughes — an accredited EMDR therapist, trauma-informed coach, and a member of the EMDR Association UK. I work with PTSD, complex trauma, military trauma, childhood abuse, anxiety, phobias, low self-worth, and trauma-linked depression. My experience spans NHS, MoD, private and community settings.
In therapy, we often talk about the Window of Tolerance. It describes the optimal state of arousal where people can function and feel safe. But for those living in prolonged readiness, that window narrows. Their baseline becomes vigilance. Calm feels unsafe. Sleep becomes shallow. They can’t fully digest food, emotion, or connection.
The recent headlines about British forces aren’t just a political matter — they’re a psychological one. For those with military trauma, these updates can be reactivating. Not in obvious ways. But in forgotten ways — disrupted sleep, sharp tempers, emotional withdrawal, physical symptoms with no clear medical cause.
This is why trauma work isn’t just about talking. It’s about regulation. It’s about helping the body learn it no longer needs to brace. EMDR does this. It accesses the frozen loops — the memories, beliefs, and sensations locked in trauma — and reprocesses them safely. Not by retelling the story, but by helping the brain file it away correctly.
When we process trauma, readiness becomes choice again — not a default.
And this is the goal: not to erase the training, the strength, or the alertness — but to give people the freedom to rest. Because humans are not designed to live in a state of permanent anticipation.
Readiness is necessary. But not forever.
To those affected by trauma, or living as if the next threat is always seconds away — you deserve peace that doesn't feel like danger. You deserve to stand down, safely.
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Written by Roger Hughes – Accredited EMDR Therapist & Trauma-Informed Coach