[svcw]

Ok, There is something that has interested me for along time and something I do not get.
For the last 20 years or so we hear frequently about PTSD being prevalent in our soldiers.
How come our parents never heard about PTSD after WWI or WWII or Korea and not even the beginning of Nam? Nam we started hearing about it towards the end.
It’s just a curiosity.
My Dad and his brothers all served in WWII as did my fatherIL, my uncle served in Korea and early Nam, I do not remember any of them talking about this, or their friends.
So what is different now?

[gunner03]

Because it was called “shell shocked” then, and the community provided the support. Are you really surprised that it turned to s-— when the Government took control? Semper Fi

[Gator113]

I think that in those days it was called, “shell shock”.

[VietVet]

They had different terms for it: “shell shock,” “combat fatigue,” “lack of moral fiber (in the RAF)”, and so on.

And no, we didn’t talk about it much; still don’t, with those who have not shared the combat experience.

[oh8eleven]

How come our parents never heard about PTSD after WWI or WWII or Korea
PTSD has existed as long as there have been wars. However, recognizing it and labeling it have usually had different results over the years.
Since WWI, it was usually defined as shell shock or combat/battle fatigue. George Patton wasn't the only one calling it cowardice and there was a hell of a stigma attached to it. That's why no one talked about it.
In 'Nam, it was evident right there on the battle field - known as the 1000 yard stare. Believe me, I know.
IMO, everyone who's been in combat suffers from it to some degree. How we dealt with it after the fact is the answer as to how we learned to cope with it.
For most, just talking about our experiences (to anyone) helped immensely. But for some, professional help was (is) required.
Personally, I think drugs are the wrong way to go.

[huldah1776]

It was called shell shock in WW1 from when they fought in the trenches and just bombed the h... out of each other. WW2 also had reports of it. The difference today is that there is a higher percentage of survivors? I don’t know that for sure.

Also, those who have had a traumatic experience before the war, divorce, abuse, auto accident, rape, will have a proportionately higher chance of deeper repercussions after another trauma. The wounds heal for many, but the protective scar tissue is not stronger as in a bone break.

Which also brings us to multiple tours. Those with the most experience will be asked to lead. Makes sense, but again, multiple traumas can lead to more problems. Because civilians also experience PTS there are good therapies out there, but we are talking government programs, not private top of the line psychiatry.

[PghBaldy]

It was called “shell shocked” in earlier wars, and was somewhat common knowledge that it happened.

[OneWingedShark]

Ok, There is something that has interested me for along time and something I do not get.
For the last 20 years or so we hear frequently about PTSD being prevalent in our soldiers.
How come our parents never heard about PTSD after WWI or WWII or Korea and not even the beginning of Nam? Nam we started hearing about it towards the end. It’s just a curiosity.
My Dad and his brothers all served in WWII as did my fatherIL, my uncle served in Korea and early Nam, I do not remember any of them talking about this, or their friends.
So what is different now?

My completely unsubstantiated intuitive theory is this: most simply it is that the soldiers are put into service told that they are fighting for certain ideals, that they are the protector of those ideals. Then they return to their country to see it not only devoid of those ideals, but those ideals actively suppressed.

Legal theory, for instance: they are told that they are under no obligation to follow illegal orders and that the Constitution is the highest law of the land... yet their whole organization, their whole society, is actively geared against them acting against the biggest threat to that Constitution: their own government. The "line" is always two steps away, and while society tells them it's two steps in front they know it's two steps crossed.

The cognitive dissonance is enormous, the separation from "normal people" is itself normal because "normal people" wouldn't feel both used and betrayed because "normal people" know that everything is fine, that the government really is acting in accordance with the Constitution. So obviously it must be the soldier that is wrong

I know I felt betrayed and impotent and... useless when I came back from Iraq in 2008, just in time to catch Obama's election and TARP. That election was particularly disturbing because it illustrated the "just shut up" attitude given by those in power to those concerned about upholding the Constitution.

[pepsionice]

PTSD existed after WWII, the Korean War, etc. I had an uncle who went into the Marines and spent all of WWII in the Pacific...fighting island to island. When he finally came back from the war...he took advantage of the GI bill...got educated....became a teacher, and eventually a school principal. In the process, he eventually got divorced and separated from his kids. He drunk to excess. He’d have a beer or two at lunch. He’d have a number of drinks after he left work. And he’d drink throughout the evening hours.

I would add this as well...in the old days...if you were shot, it was a fair chance of you dying. We’ve come to a point where you could suffer some significant wounds, yet survive and live on for decades. The problem is that you probably suffered some emotional issues and those items just aren’t fixable.

PTSD is going to be a major drain on our society for the decades to come. We will blame a lot of things for these GIs and the issues that arise, but we asked for the impossible, and they gave it to us....and we have to accept PTSD as part of the payback.