PTSD History

  • (Not exact date but years are correct for all)

  • Swiss Physicians identify ‘Nostalgia’

    Swiss Physicians identify ‘Nostalgia’
  • Period: to

    Timespan Of PTSD

  • Dominique Jean Larrey describes the disorder as having three stages

  • U.S. military physicians document the stresses of Civil War soldiers threw 1865

    U.S. military physicians document the stresses of Civil War soldiers
  • U.S. military physicians document the stresses of Civil War soldiers

  • Battle shock’ is regarded as a legitimate medical condition by the Russian Army

  • Distress of soldiers is attributed to ‘shell shock’ during WWI 1917-1919

  • Smith and Pear advocate for the term ‘war strain’ and for treatment of soldiers’ emotional symptoms

  • Terminology changes to ‘combat exhaustion’ during WWII, and U.S. Army adopts the official slogan, “Every man has his breaking point” (1939-1945)

  • U.S. Army creates a training video for unspecialized medical officers for the treatment of combat exhaustion, including administration of sodium pentothal and suggestive therapy

  • U.S. Army releases a documentary about causes and treatment of mental illness during WWII

  • Each military battalion is provided with officers trained to treat psychological problems during the Vietnam war

  • Chaim Shatan raises awareness of ‘post-Vietnam syndrome’ in the New York Times

  •  ‘Posttraumatic stress disorder’ is added to DSM-III

  • DSM-III-R drops requirement that stressors be outside the range of normal human experience

  • Grey’s Anatomy introduces a character with combat-related PTSD