{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,8]],"date-time":"2026-06-08T22:45:16Z","timestamp":1780958716945,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":54,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,20]],"date-time":"2024-01-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1705708800000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Qual Health Res"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2024,6]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Contemporary understanding of combat trauma\u2019s psychological effects emphasizes the interpersonal ways survivors process their experiences. Yet cases of incongruence between survivors who want to share their traumatic experience and close others who are not ready to take part in this challenging task are common. Hence, many trauma survivors are compelled to cope with the posttraumatic consequences mostly alone. The present study followed the interpretive phenomenological approach to examine the experience of loneliness, as described by 15 male combat veterans dealing with posttraumatic stress. Participants completed semistructured qualitative interviews in which they shared their knowledge regarding postservice distress, loneliness, coping, and growth. Two main themes emerged: \u201cThe Loneliness Complex,\u201d highlighting this phenomenon\u2019s multifaceted, layered, and cyclical nature; and \u201cEmotional Growth after Loneliness,\u201d presenting the positive potential of loneliness. These findings emphasize the importance of interpersonal relations in trauma survivors\u2019 recovery process. Participants described how experiences with peers can serve as a pivotal point for coping with postservice distress and how internalization of positive interpersonal interactions seems to be a crucial psychological resource for further rehabilitation and growth. Being a multilayered and cyclical condition, loneliness might serve trauma survivors in their search of safety, while also bearing the potential to motivate them to act upon their condition and promote emotional growth. Clinicians should acknowledge the risks trauma survivors take by leaving their lonely yet safe place, as they are encouraged to process their traumatic experiences and share their inner world with others.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/10497323241226599","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,20]],"date-time":"2024-01-20T04:38:35Z","timestamp":1705725515000},"page":"649-661","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["\u201cMy Scar\u201d: Posttraumatic Loneliness as a Source of Pain and Resource for Coping"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"34","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1436-1013","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shai","family":"Shorer","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Social Work, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health studies, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel"},{"name":"B\u2019Shvil, Or Yehuda, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michael","family":"Weinberg","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Social Work, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health studies, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yael","family":"Koko","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Social Work, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health studies, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Doron","family":"Marom","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"B\u2019Shvil, Or Yehuda, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"bibr1-10497323241226599","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/14780887.2018.1442704"},{"key":"bibr2-10497323241226599","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1176\/appi.books.9780890425787"},{"key":"bibr3-10497323241226599","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0969733017748480"},{"key":"bibr4-10497323241226599","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/pap0000089"},{"key":"bibr5-10497323241226599","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/0803706X.2012.738309"},{"key":"bibr6-10497323241226599","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1745691615570616"},{"key":"bibr7-10497323241226599","first-page":"222","volume-title":"Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods","author":"Clarke V.","year":"2015"},{"key":"bibr8-10497323241226599","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/CCO9781139047289.007"},{"key":"bibr9-10497323241226599","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11017-010-9141-1"},{"key":"bibr10-10497323241226599","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.29173\/pandpr19818"},{"key":"bibr11-10497323241226599","first-page":"71","volume-title":"The handbook of solitude: Psychological perspectives on social isolation, social withdrawal, and being alone","author":"Galanaki E.","year":"2014"},{"key":"bibr12-10497323241226599","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2022.873885"},{"key":"bibr13-10497323241226599","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0239698"},{"key":"bibr14-10497323241226599","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0269678"},{"key":"bibr15-10497323241226599","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/10926771.2023.2189044"},{"key":"bibr16-10497323241226599","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/08995605.2022.2044119"},{"key":"bibr17-10497323241226599","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1682\/JRRD.2014.08.0195"},{"key":"bibr18-10497323241226599","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1049732316665344"},{"key":"bibr19-10497323241226599","volume-title":"Trauma and recovery","author":"Herman J. 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