preview

Shell Shock Vietnam War

Decent Essays

The United States has been engaged in many wars going all the way back to the war of 1812 to the war on terrorism and between these wars many men were killed or wounded physically and mentally. In 1915 Charles Myers was a physician who also worked as a psychologist, he noticed that the men were returning from battle displaying involuntary shivering, crying, fearful, and loss of memory. Myers coined their condition as being shell-shocked, which was related to their exposure during combat. Many soldiers suffering from the condition of shell shock were deemed cowards and unfit for battle. Shell shock was treated with electric shocks and isolation. During the Vietnam war, psychologist were being trained to deal with military personnel dealing with combat related stress. These combat stress issues were identified as post-traumatic stress disorder and in 1980 it was noted in the DSM-III. …show more content…

These traumatic events overwhelm the mind and the affected is unable to process information and feeling. The individual experiencing PTSD go through feels and thoughts during their traumatic event that interrupts the mind and causes distress. PTSD is not only related to combat; as shell shock was, but also can occur from a rape, witnessing a murder, combat, and a disaster. A person can also develop post-traumatic stress disorder from seeing or learning about an event, which can cause death or even injury. The person dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder goes through a chemical imbalance that affects their mood and anxiety. These imbalances cause the infected to go through different levels of mental behavior, from avoidance, flashbacks, dreams of the traumatic event, angry outbursts or aggressive behavior and trouble

Get Access