The IDF has developed an app containing a simple psychological test meant to help prevent soldiers from developing PTSD when they go into combat.
The app, called Keshev Kravi or "Combat Attention," is based on research done at Tel Aviv University on soldiers who fought in Operation Protective Edge in 2014.
The idea is simple: soldiers who try and divert attention from threats are at a higher risk of developing PTSD, according to the Protective Edge study and subsequent replications.
So, the app trains soldiers to look directly at something threatening a number of times to train their brain to not look away. Users of the app are given two faces to look at - one angry and one neutral. A red dot will appear, which the user must press as quickly as possible.
To ensure that users get used to looking at the unpleasant, angry picture, which simulates a threat, the red dot generally appears on the picture of the angry face.
Hundreds of soldiers have reportedly already used the app, and efforts are being made to ensure as many soldiers as possible do so. The hope is that this will significantly reduce the number of soldiers coming home in need of intensive therapy to deal with what they've experienced in Gaza.
