For many Australian Defence Force (ADF) members, leaving the military is a significant life transition. While family, friends, and colleagues may view discharge or retirement as the beginning of a new chapter, many veterans find adjustment to civilian life a complex and challenging experience. It is also a time when mental health difficulties can emerge or worsen for many veterans.
The practical challenges of moving to Civvy Street – finding work, establishing new routines, and navigating financial changes – are often talked about. Less visible are the psychological challenges that can accompany the shift from military to civilian life. Questions of identity, purpose, belonging, and meaning can emerge, sometimes unexpectedly, long after service has ended.
Importantly, these experiences are not necessarily signs of mental illness. Rather, they are understandable and common responses to a major life change. However, when unsupported or compounded by other stressors or unhelpful coping strategies they can provide fertile soil for further mental health difficulties to develop.
Author
Stuart Wilkinson, Clinical Psychologist
When the Uniform Becomes Part of Who You Are
Military service is more than a job. It provides structure, purpose, shared values, community and connection, and a strong sense of identity. Throughout military service, ADF members are often part of something larger than themselves. Roles are clearly defined, expectations understood, and decisions guided by a shared mission. The military also fosters strong bonds with colleagues through shared experiences, challenges, and achievements. Over time, many people come to see military service as an important part of who they.
When that chapter ends, some veterans find themselves asking questions they never anticipated:
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Who am I now?
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Where do I fit?
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What am I working towards?
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What gives my life meaning?
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How do I cope in this new setting or role?
These questions can come up even when the transition is voluntary, well-planned, and successful on paper, and can present several common challenges.
The Loss of Purpose and Direction
One of the most reported challenges after military service is a loss of purpose. Military life often involves working towards something that feel significant and meaningful. Whether supporting operations, leading teams, protecting others, providing aid, or contributing to a broader mission, ADF members frequently describe having a strong sense that their work matters. Civilian life can feel different.
Even after finding employment, some veterans report feeling disconnected from their work or uncertain about their future direction. Activities that once felt important may no longer provide the same sense of fulfilment.
This experience can be confusing. Some veterans find themselves asking why they feel dissatisfied, despite having a good job and stable life after discharge. Often, the issue is not a lack of success but a lack of connection to what feels personally meaningful.
Missing the Tribe
Another significant aspect of transition is the loss of camaraderie. Military culture creates a unique sense of belonging. There are many layers of group identity and ADF members may identify as part of a platoon, company, or squadron, depending on their area of service, or identify with their job or corps, as well as the people around them and the history of their role. Team members rely on one another, share common experiences, and understand each other's challenges without needing extensive explanation.
After discharge, many veterans describe feeling disconnected from those around them. Civilian friends and colleagues may be supportive, but they may not fully understand military experiences or culture. This can contribute to feelings of isolation and loneliness, even when a person is surrounded by family and friends.
Humans are fundamentally social beings, and a sense of belonging plays an important role in psychological wellbeing. As Sebastian Junger explains in his book ‘Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging,’ the loss of this connection and shared understanding is a significant contributor to the stress of transitioning and potential difficulties with mental health. Rebuilding meaningful social connections after service is often an important part of successful adjustment.
When Difficult Thoughts and Emotions Show Up
Transition can also bring emotional challenges. Some veterans experience sadness, uncertainty, frustration, anxiety, or grief about the loss of a valued role. Others may find themselves dwelling on difficult thoughts such as:
‘I don't fit in anymore.’
‘The best years are behind me.’
‘Nobody understands what it's like.’
‘I've lost my purpose.’
Our instinct can be to push these thoughts and feelings away. We may try to stay busy, avoid difficult emotions, or convince ourselves that we should simply ‘get over it.’ Unfortunately, the harder we struggle against unwanted internal experiences, the more influence they exert over our lives. Avoidance of internal experiences (i.e., thoughts and feelings) contributes to increased suffering and comes with significant costs (e.g., time, effort, and avoidance of external triggers).
Finding a New Way Forward
One psychological approach that has gained increasing attention in recent years is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, commonly known as ACT. ACT is based on the idea that emotional wellbeing is not achieved by eliminating difficult thoughts and feelings. Instead, it cultivates the ability to make room for these experiences while continuing to take meaningful action. This approach can be particularly relevant for veterans navigating life after service.
Many of the skills developed during military careers – discipline, emotional control, persistence, and focus under pressure – are highly adaptive in operational environments. However, these can become ingrained and are less helpful when dealing with the uncertainty, grief, or identity challenges that often accompany transition.
ACT encourages a different relationship with difficult internal experiences. Rather than becoming stuck in a struggle against uncomfortable thoughts and emotions, ACT encourages us to acknowledge them, make space for them, and focus on what matters most – our values and behaviour.
Evidence for ACT with Veterans
There is a growing body of research to support the use of ACT and other mindfulness-based therapies in supporting the mental health of veterans. A recent review considered 26 studies using ACT for veterans and supported its efficacy in improving mental health across a range of presentations (e.g., PTSD, chronic pain, anxiety, and depression; with 26 studies included in the review and 8 studies and 1403 participants included in the meta-analysis).
ACT also emphasises the importance of mindfulness and self-compassion – two processes which have received a lot of attention, funding, and research for their potential to support veterans. For instance, research has shown that self-compassion strongly predicts PTSD symptom severity and act as a vital protective factor. A 2015 study found that for US service personnel returning from overseas combat operations their levels of self-compassion were more predictive of PTSD symptoms than their level of combat exposure. Several reviews and meta-analyses have also supported the efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions in reducing PTSD and depression symptoms and improved wellbeing outcomes for veterans.
The US Department of Veterans Affairs has invested considerable resources into funding and researching ACT programs to support veterans and has its own ACT therapy manual and ACT Coach app available through the National Center for PTSD
Rediscovering Values Beyond Military Service
One of the most powerful aspects of ACT is its focus on values. While goals can be achieved and completed, values are ongoing directions that guide how we want to live. ACT emphasises the importance of having goals that are adaptive and connected to our values alongside the innate value of embodying our values beyond achieving goals. Military roles may end, but the values that motivated service often remain.
For example, a veteran may discover that while they are no longer serving in uniform, they still deeply value: Leadership, Service, Contribution, Growth & Courage.
When viewed through this lens, transition becomes less about replacing a military identity and more about finding new ways to express enduring values.
A former infantry soldier may find purpose through mentoring younger colleagues. A retired officer may discover fulfilment through community or corporate leadership. Another veteran may focus on being present for family after years of deployment and service commitments. The specific path will differ for each person, but the underlying values may remain consistent.
Other values can often come to the fore in periods of transition, such as family, curiosity, connection, or learning. There is no right or wrong with which values you hold, but ACT encourages the creation of opportunities to connect with them through meaningful behaviour.
Building a Meaningful Life After Service
Transitioning from military service can involve uncertainty, loss, and significant adjustment. It can also provide an opportunity to reflect on what matters most and to build a life guided by those priorities. For some veterans, this process occurs naturally over time. For others, support from family, peers, veteran organisations, or mental health professionals can be helpful.
The goal is not to erase the past or leave military identity behind. Rather, it is to integrate those experiences into a broader sense of self and create a meaningful future that honours both who you have been and who you want to become.
Leaving the military may mark the end of one chapter, but it does not have to mean the enduring loss of purpose, identity, or direction. In many cases, it is the beginning of discovering how those qualities can continue to shape a fulfilling life beyond the uniform.
Author: This page was written by Stuart Wilkinson, Clinical Psychologist, Registered Psychologist with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) PSY0002599298. Published date: September 2026.
References
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