ARCHITECTURE OF MEANINGS OF COMBAT SERVICE MEMBERS: DYNAMICS OF REORGANIZATION AND SOMATIC-MEANING INTEGRATION

Abstract

The article substantiates a comprehensive theoretical and methodological model of the meaning architecture of military personnel with combat experience and analyzes the dynamics of its reorganization under the influence of extreme wartime events. The problem of meaning transformations becomes particularly relevant in the context of full-scale war, when service members experience disruptions in fundamental assumptions about safety, control, justice, the self, and the future.The theoretical foundation of the study is the meaning paradigm of consciousness, which conceptualizes meaning as an integral unit of experience formed through the interaction of bodily, emotional, cognitive, moral, and social processes. The work also integrates key international approaches to post-traumatic change, including the model of posttraumatic growth, theories of meaning making and meaning reconstruction, the concept of moral injury, and P. Levine’s body-oriented model Somatic Experiencing.The proposed structural model comprises nine levels of meaning architecture – from somatosensory and affective to cognitive, imaginal, moral-value, identificational, reflective, existential, and integrative. A process-flow model of meaning dynamics demonstrates how combat experience transforms into a coherent meaning system through sequential regulation, emotional processing, interpretation, and integration. The study shows that psychological support serves as a key factor facilitating meaning reorganization, enabling the transition from fragmented or trauma-fixed states to coherent and life-supporting meaning structures.The proposed approach makes it possible to view the meaning architecture not only as a theoretical construct but also as a practical tool for assessing deep changes in the lived experience of combat and identifying resources for subsequent recovery. In addition, the model can be adapted for use in interdisciplinary research integrating psychological, social, and clinical dimensions of veteran care. The model provides a theoretical foundation for future studies and the development of psychocorrective interventions aimed at restoring meaning coherence and supporting veterans in the process of post-war reintegration.