Shell shock is defined as a psychological condition presumed to be caused by a traumatic experience occurring in warfare, however, there is still not an agreed cause of shell shock. Shell shock has been given many names over the years such as “war neurosis” and “neurasthenia”, however, today it is usually referred to as PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) due to the fact that shells played very little part in the cause of shell shock. During the early stages of the war, it was believed that shell shock was caused by a physical injury to the nervous system. Denis Winter (p.136;1988) states that “80% of shell-shocked men…had a previous psychiatric record.” Winter also believed that the explosion of shells was the primary cause of shell shock (p.130;1988). …show more content…
Shell shock, like most psychological illnesses in the early/mid twentieth century, was something that doctors couldn’t understand; this is due to the lack of knowledge of mental illnesses at the time and the fact that this was the first time in history where thousands of men were suffering from the same psychological condition that had rarely been seen before.
Shell shock played a vital role in the development of psychiatry because people began experimenting on the shell-shocked men in order to seek new cures. Despite the breakthrough in psychology during the twentieth century, shell shock still baffles researchers today due to the amount of soldiers returning from the Middle-East suffering from similar conditions to shell shock. D. Stevenson (p.208;2012) believes that post-traumatic stress disorder is the “modern name” of the condition previously known as shell
shock. Before it was officially recognised as a real disorder in 1916, there was little sympathy for those suffering from shell shock. Shell-shocked men were often convicted of cowardice or desertion and eventually executed. However, it was hard to ignore the sheer amount of men - most of which had good war records - suffering from the same condition and eventually shell shock (known as neurasthenia at the time) was declared a real disorder. Shell shock most likely occurred in previous wars, but not on the same scale as it did in the First World War. Martin Gilbert (1995;275-276) states that: “By the end of the war, nearly 80,000 officers and men had been unable to continue in the trenches…for nervous disorders” which eventually became known as shell shock. The Battle of Somme in 1916 is considered a turning in point in how shell shock was viewed; over 40% of the casualties were shell shocked which led people to take it more seriously as a psychological disorder. Despite this, soldiers suffering from shell shock were still sent back to the trenches after being treated because Britain could not afford to lose so many men who were not physically incapable of fighting: “Indeed 87% would be back again in front-line service within a month of being incapacitated.” (Winter, p.136; 1988). Also, a lot men suffering from shell shock were still treated as deserters when they returned home, demonstrating the narrow-minded view that most people had of shell shock and mental illnesses in general at the time. Much like Britain at the time, Germany also had very little sympathy towards those suffering from shell shock during the First World War and used various methods of therapy that were often painful for those undergoing it. This is largely because people at the time had very little knowledge of mental illnesses; this would eventually change because of shell shock. When shell shock became an epidemic, the British military had no idea how to deal with it: Gilbert states that: “several men were evacuated from France to England owing to having been “broken” by their experiences…” (p.275-276; 1995).
Jarrod J. Rein is an eighteen-year-old with dark brown hair and brown eyes to match the brown arid dirt of Piedmont, Oklahoma. His skin is a smooth warm tan glow that opposes his white smile making his teeth look like snow. Standing a great height of six foot exactly, his structure resembles a bear. He is attending Piedmont high school where he in his last year of high school (senior year). He is studying to be a forensics anthropologist. Also he is studying early in the field of anatomy to be successful in his profession. While not always on the rise for knowledge Jarrod’s swimming for his high school. In a sense it’s like you see double.
“There is no pit so deep, that God’s love is not deep still.” Corrie Ten Boom once quoted. Corrie Ten Boom was a follower of God who believed God’s love is like no other, and followed his commandments at the best of her abilities. Corrie Ten Boom, the most well-known lady during the Holocaust for hiding Jews, was admirable not only because of her bravery, determination, and leadership skills, but also inspired many different people in a lot of different ways.
Hunt, Nigel. "The contribution of All Quiet on the Western Front to our understanding of psychological trauma." European Psychiatry 19, no. 8 (2004): 489-493.
“The mystery lies in the effects of the primary blast. Theories range widely: Is it the shock wave’s entry to the brain through the cranial orifices” (page 36). No one truly knows what causes returning soldiers to suffer from PTSD however, when veterans return, they aren’t the same person that left. Going through all of the perpetual hostility and seeing what they have seen is not a painless undertaking. However, the training that the soldiers undergo is not any easier. “ Mild TBI may increase vulnerability to certain psychological disorders, possibly accounting for the high rate of such disorders and even suicide among veterans.” (page 37) With the unbroken tone of explosions and gunshots the brain gradually weakens in ways that dreadfully weaken a person. Shock waves released from a blast impact the brain “For days after the larger explosions, breachers reported dull aches in the chest and back “like someone had punched them” as well as headaches”(page 37). Warfare undoubtedly affects a person mentally and the brain has always been a challenging enigma for the researchers: with all the electrical impulses and biochemical reactions that control an individuals body and mind. PTSD interrupts all the “harmonious interactions among the brains 100 billion cells”(page 43). Hearing a blast affects the harmonious interactions that are in the
Summary In “Said a Bird in the Midst of a Blitz…” Philip Nel scrutinizes how the war molded Dr. Seuss. In this essay, the author examines how Dr. Seuss’s experience as a cartoonist for the newspaper, PM, showed up in his career later on as a writer for children’s books. Seuss served as a political cartoonist and successful advertising artist.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), originally associated with combat, has always been around in some shape or form but it was not until 1980 that it was named Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and became an accredited diagnosis (Rothschild). The fact is PTSD is one of many names for an old problem; that war has always had a severe psychological impact on people in immediate and lasting ways. PTSD has a history that is as long and significant as the world’s war history - thousands of years. Although, the diagnosis has not been around for that long, different names and symptoms of PTSD always have been. Some physical symptoms include increased blood pressure, excessive heart rate, rapid breathing, muscle tension, nausea, diarrhea, problems with vision, speech, walking disorders, convulsive vomiting, cardiac palpitations, twitching or spasms, weakness and severe muscular cramps. The individual may also suffer from psychological symptoms, such as violent nightmares, flashbacks, melancholy, disturbed sleep or insomnia, loss of appetite, and anxieties when certain things remind them such as the anniversary date of the event (Peterson, 2009).
The intensity of the battle fought along the war fronts often caused neurotic cracks to appear in otherwise stable soldiers by the end of the war 20,000 men were still suffering from shell shock and thousands more were experiencing the symptoms. The terms shell shock was coined in 1917 by a medical officer called Charles Myers. It was also known as war “neurosis”, “combat stress”, and PTSD. At first shell shock was thought to be caused by soldiers being exposed to explaining shells.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, also known as PTSD, is an anxiety disorder that can develop after a traumatic event (Riley). A more in depth definition of the disorder is given by Doctor’s Nancy Piotrowski and Lillian Range, “A maladaptive condition resulting from exposure to events beyond the realm of normal human experience and characterized by persistent difficulties involving emotional numbing, intense fear, helplessness, horror, re-experiencing of trauma, avoidance, and arousal.” People who suffer from this disease have been a part of or seen an upsetting event that haunts them after the event, and sometimes the rest of their lives. There are nicknames for this disorder such as “shell shock”, “combat neurosis”, and “battle fatigue” (Piotrowski and Range). “Battle fatigue” and “combat neurosis” refer to soldiers who have been overseas and seen disturbing scenes that cause them anxiety they will continue to have when they remember their time spent in war. It is common for a lot of soldiers to be diagnosed with PTSD when returning from battle. Throughout the history of wars American soldiers have been involved in, each war had a different nickname for what is now PTSD (Pitman et al. 769). At first, PTSD was recognized and diagnosed as a personality disorder until after the Vietnam Veterans brought more attention to the disorder, and in 1980 it became a recognized anxiety disorder (Piotrowski and Range). There is not one lone cause of PTSD, and symptoms can vary from hallucinations to detachment of friends and family, making a diagnosis more difficult than normal. To treat and in hopes to prevent those who have this disorder, the doctor may suggest different types of therapy and also prescribe medication to help subside the sympt...
An outcome of World War I was a new medical disorder classified as Shell Shock. Shell Shock is a medical disorder developed to describe the symptoms that soldiers developed without a probable or obvious lesion as the cause after serving time on the war front. Shell Shock is one of the most prominent injuries of World War I; the symptoms varied among each soldier, treatments were still being developed, and doctors were still trying to understand the severity of the disorder. The symptoms soldiers described are due to the stress they encountered while they served on the front line. Shell Shock is a condition that soldiers have begun to develop after serving in the war.
In May 1940, the Nazis invaded the Netherlands. Among their restrictions was banning a club which Ten Boom had run for young girls.[1][page needed] In May 1942 a well-dressed woman came to the Ten Booms' with a suitcase in hand and told them that she was a Jew, her husband had been arrested several months before, her son had gone into hiding, and Occupation authorities had recently visited her, so she was afraid to go back. She had heard that the Ten Booms had helped their Jewish neighbors, the Weils, and asked if they might help her too. Casper ten Boom readily agreed that she could stay with them. A devoted reader of the Old Testament, he believed that the Jews were the 'chosen people', and he told the woman, "In this household, God's people
During World War I, PTSD was common amongst veterans of trench warfare. It was referred to as “shell-shock”, which was originally believed to be caused by the sounds of artillery fire, according to Nancy C Andreasen. World War II had even more cases due to the use of more weapons, bombs, and smaller squads, which caused less social interaction. It was then that the government realized that PTSD in veterans, or more commonly called “combat exhaustion”, can affect anybody, not just the weak minded. The Vietnam War experienced the most victims, however.
Throughout history there have been records of soldiers experiencing ‘shell shock,’ ‘battle fatigue,’ ‘gross stress reaction,’ and ‘soldier’s heart.’ The soldiers who suffered from these combat induced physiological traumas were branded as cowards, and removed from positions, reprimanded and even court marshaled. Vietnam veterans began to experience similar ailments immediately following the war. This new surge of afflicted soldiers forced the public as well as medical professionals and government officials to take notice of what is now ...
The diagnosis of Post –Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) involves clusters of symptoms. They include persistent re-experiencing of the trauma, avoidance of traumatic reminders/ general numbing of emotional responsiveness, and hyper-arousal (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). In order for the possible diagnosis of PTSD the individual needs to have exposed to a
Anger, aggression and confusion are a few symptoms of the fabled myth of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). An over whelming feeling that devours men and women of the armed forces, but hasn’t been talked about openly until, now. A subject no one likes to openly speak of, due to fear of being cast out as an outsider among the normal people who never witnessed something so traumatic can function in normal society today.
... middle of paper ... ... Although Hemingway accurately illustrates the negative impact war has on soldiers emotionally, he fails to address any positive learning experiences a soldier may have. Works Cited Spiller, Roger J. - "The 'Piece' of the World" "Shell shock; time after time in this troubled century, our whole society has made itself forget about the terrible, invisible battle wounds once known as shell shock, later as combat fatigue, and now PTSD - posttraumatic stress disorder.