Emotional Support
Introduction
Emotional support is the reason Breaking Waves was founded, and it remains the foundation of everything we do.
We work with soldiers and reserve soldiers, and with everyone affected by the Swords of Iron war in the first and second circles, who has lived through traumatic experience. What we offer is a safe space in which to cope, to regain strength and to reconnect, through the sea and through sailing.
The experience is part of what we give back to our society, and it is provided at no cost to the soldiers and to those affected by the war.
Emotional support is one of the most significant elements of our work.
We want to be clear about what this is and what it is not. We are not clinicians. We do not replace medical or mental health professionals, and we do not carry out therapeutic interventions. What we offer is attentive, supportive companionship within the experience of a sail, grounded in an understanding that going out to sea creates a rare opening for conversation, for calm, for release and for personal strength.
What Emotional Support Is, and Why It Matters?
Many of the men and women who have lived through trauma, whether or not they have received a formal diagnosis, carry experiences that are hard to set down. They describe flashbacks, which are involuntary returns to a moment in memory. They describe feeling alone even when surrounded by others, a sense of not belonging, thoughts that take them to places they would rather not go, difficulty putting into words what they have been through, and at times difficulty simply living in the present.
The support we offer is human, attentive and free of judgement.
Within a voyage at sea, a distinctive kind of space opens up. It is a space in which a person can share, talk, listen, or simply be.
The combination of the marine environment with the sense of belonging to a crew and working on shared tasks allows openness to develop naturally, along with a renewed connection to a person’s own inner resources and a readiness to meet difficulty, with nothing forced and no pressure applied.
How It Works in Practice?
Every sail is run by a regular, experienced crew of skippers, the licensed sailors who command each boat. You can meet them on our team page. All of them have been trained in emotional support, both by professionals in the field and through conferences, guided sessions and their own life experience.
In addition, every few voyages, qualified professionals join the group. They accompany both the participants and the skippers, and they are well acquainted with the complexities of combat experience and of trauma more broadly.
The support rests on conversation between equals, not on psychological treatment.
A sail creates its own moments for sharing. They arrive while navigating together, while handling wind and sea, or while sitting quietly facing the horizon.
Anyone who wants to talk finds someone who will listen. Anyone who wants only to listen finds a space where that is enough.
Why the Sea?
Biophilia is the term used for the deep and natural connection between human beings and the living world. The sea, in particular, has its own effect on the body and on the emotions.
A calming, steadying effect. Waves, wind and an open horizon reduce tension and help a person settle.
A stronger sense of control and confidence. Meeting the elements under sail gives participants back their trust in themselves and in what they are capable of.
Distance from everyday stimulation. No phones, no background noise. Only the sea, the crew and the present moment.
Emotional release through movement. Being in a changing and unpredictable environment allows participants to feel, to adapt and to find their own balance.
The sea asks for presence, focus and teamwork, and that is precisely what allows participants to live in the here and now, to let go, to face what they carry from the past, to build trust in the people alongside them, and to build resilience for what lies ahead.
Not Therapy, but a Way Back to Yourself
The journey we offer is not a structured therapeutic process. It is an experience that strengthens, that brings people together, and that gives back a sense of capability.
No one is required to speak and no one is required to share. What there is instead is listening, presence and honest connection, among people who have been through comparable experiences and who are able to understand and to hold what is said. For many participants, that makes a kind of healing possible that a clinic does not always reach.
We believe that the combination of the sea, the crew and a shared experience is a force in its own right. It is a force that can help soldiers, and others living with trauma, find their way back to a sense of control and to the people around them.
In Summary
Breaking Waves offers soldiers, and everyone in the first and second circles of the Swords of Iron war, a different kind of space in which to meet what they have lived through. No commitment, no labels and no expectations. Only a real willingness to be there for them.
What Comes of It:
A natural process of growing stronger and of learning to cope.
Personal resources rebuilt through real experience.
Renewed connection with other people, in a setting that is neither judgemental nor demanding.
Release from everyday pressure, and the chance simply to be.
The support of a group that understands.
An opportunity for personal growth and for regaining strength.
We, the members of the association, the skippers, the emotional support team and everyone else involved, invite you to join us, to support us, and to help us go on offering this experience to those who have given so much on behalf of us all.
At Breaking Waves we do not treat. We create a safe space in which each person can discover the sea, take in the calm it offers, and gather themselves for the challenges ahead.
Because sometimes what is needed is a good wind and open water.