I've no idea what you're smoking, Ragnar, but I've a feeling its nothing military personnel could get away with.
As for feeling you are in an alternate universe, imagine what it is like to be in the armpit of the world and living the same day every time you wake up. (See Groundhog Day, 1993, starring Bill Murray) Now add: Alcohol and pornography are suddenly illegal for over a year, and you can't download or upload anything, or play online games for over a year, and you work twelve hours a day, seven days a week with no real days off. You also still have training exercises to attend. Thats more stress than actual combat can create. Now, stack the occasional two weeks of guard duty, in which you have no sleep whatsoever because some one got the bright idea to make the schedule split into each soldier working two alternate shifts per day so they can't do anything but eat, guard, and fail to sleep for fourteen days.
Frankly, in order to escape the stress, I catch myself becoming borderline autistic. I daydream and attempt to be antisocial, seeing as some of my comrades have made it their life goal to be annoying pricks and I really don't want to be in the same universe, much less room with them. If what I type starts getting trippy and you see a psychedelic display of kaleidoscopic effects, do let me know. We can blame the Army for inventing my personal by-product of stress, "Written LSD."
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