“Never Returned from the War”. Phenomenon of Chronicization of the Combat Ego in Veterans of Combat Operations

<jats:p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Context and relevance. &lt;/strong&gt;The large number of military conflicts in the modern world makes it relevant to study the psychological consequences of participation in hostilities in a variety of forms. &lt;strong&gt;Objective&lt;/strong&gt;: identification and classification of the main forms of chronicization of the combat ego in combat veterans; development of general recommendations for psychological work with veterans experiencing a complex of chronicization of the combat ego; drawing the attention of researchers to the problem under consideration. &lt;strong&gt;Hypothesis.&lt;/strong&gt; Psychological consequences of participation in combat actions are not only psychotraumatization, post-traumatic stress disorder and other stress-related disorders, but also maturation, psychological hardening, and acquisition of life wisdom by combatants. &lt;strong&gt;Methods and materials&lt;/strong&gt;: study of scientific literature and publications of combatants. &lt;strong&gt;Results.&lt;/strong&gt; The consequences of combat experience are presented in the form of psychological complexes &amp;mdash; stable patterns of perception of oneself and the world, thoughts, motives, moods, and behavior united around a core need. The &amp;ldquo;never returned from the war&amp;rdquo; complex is revealed, which arises as a consequence of chronization of the combat ego in a participant in military events. The following forms of chronicization of the combat ego are distinguished: professional complex, adrenal complex, zombie complex, Rambo complex, and &amp;ldquo;soldier of fortune&amp;rdquo; complex. The structure of the chronicization complex of the combat ego is described. &lt;strong&gt;Conclusions.&lt;/strong&gt; General recommendations for psychological assistance to veterans who &amp;ldquo;did not return from the war&amp;rdquo; are substantiated. It is necessary to support, and sometimes even initiate a veteran's appeal for specialized psychological assistance, to explain that veteran assistance centers are not &amp;ldquo;for the weak&amp;rdquo;, but for those who want to live for real, and not in a constant defense mode&lt;strong&gt;.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</jats:p>