Dr. Yuval Neria commanded a tank in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. He was severely wounded and received Israel’s Medal of Valor. Twelve days of combat set the direction of his life’s work, helping people recover from extreme trauma. Mark “Moose” McGrath and I talked with him about what he learned in combat and in decades of PTSD research.
Yuval describes how combat taught him to filter bad orders, protect his crews and update his picture of reality on the move. That mindset later shaped his research.
The event and the disorder
Yuval draws a line between trauma and disorder. The trauma is the event. The disorder is the emotional charge attached to the memory. Recovery works to separate the two, restore meaning and rebuild trust. He explains why three people can share a firefight and come away with different wounds. Genetics, sleep, earlier injuries and the personal nature of the harm all play a part.
Homecoming
Early support after homecoming matters a great deal. Without it, Yuval says, sleep fails, depression grows and people look for relief in alcohol, marijuana or compulsions. He argues that one treatment cannot fit everyone, because cases driven by anxiety differ from cases driven by depression and moral injury.
New approaches
Yuval led a battalion in the 1982 Lebanon War. He later founded the Columbia-NYP Military Family Wellness Center, and his work includes equine-assisted therapy through the Man O’ War Project. Psychedelics come up too, including MDMA, ketamine and psilocybin, along with animal therapy. He also addresses betrayal, moral injury and sexual assault in the military.
I see orientation in his work. Reorienting after trauma changes what a person notices and how he acts. Orientation sits at the center of John Boyd’s real OODA loop.
This episode is not medical advice. If you are a veteran in crisis, call 988 and press 1, or text 838255. Anyone else can call or text 988.
Who do you know who came home without the support they needed?
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Written by Ponch Rivera with AI assistance in production. The full conversation is in the player below.