PTSD with World War I Soldiers
By Emily Bath
What is PTSD?
Events that can cause Ptsd:
- War
- Sexual Assault
- Childhood neglect/assault
- Kidnapping
- Terrorist attacks
- Car Crash
- Sudden lost of something dear
Noticing if someone with Ptsd can be very obvious and can change someone's personality instantly, and lifestyle will be affected.
Symptoms of Ptsd:
- Flashbacks
- Nightmares
- Delusions
- Depression
- Burst of anger
- Self-Blame/Guilt
- Difficult falling asleep
With Ptsd, many things can trigger emotional/physical distress depending on the situation that caused the Ptsd.

This picture above this color is proven to relax PTSD patients.
Shell Shock
Some of the symptoms of Shell Shock was a bit physical, because the soldiers couldn't sit or stand still, because of the fear of getting shot even though they are home. Click on the video below (WARNING GRAPHIC YOU DON'T HAVE TO WATCH) to see a soldier with Shell Shock.
Treatment for Shell Shock
- Shaming/Isolation
- Electric Shock Therapy
Electric shock therapy actually causes memory lost and torture, the doctors thought they were helping these soldiers forget the battlefield, and think they will snap back into a 'humane human being'. They would put a headphone sponge earmuffs type of device in water then put them on the patient's head and send volts of electricity to their brain. While the 'patient' bites down on a piece of wood, for the obvious pain they were in. The picture above is a patient going through electric shock therapy.
The shaming and isolation was to punish the 'weakness' out of the victims systems, they keep them alone in a dark, and question the victims with a series of test to see if they are proper enough to go back into the daily life, only 10% actually did.
Some were lucky to get the treatment of hypnosis, which make the old soldier believe he was never in the war and these memories were replaced with happier newer memories. But if the newer memorie didn't work they also tried helping them cope with loud sounds. This was considered the safest and most reliable way to help victims with shell shock therapy to a normal life.
My Reaction
Work Cited
- Groch-Begley, Hannah. "The Forgotten Female Shell-Shock Victims of World War I." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 08 Sept. 2014. Web. 16 Dec. 2015.
- "Life after Trauma." 'Life after Trauma' N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2015.
- "Shell Shock." Bbc.co. N.p., n.d. Web. Dec.-Jan. 2015.
- Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2015.