When you think of “shell shock” what comes to mind?

During World War One Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome was a huge problem. Doctors believed that the tell tale “thousand yard stare” was a sign that the close proximity of exploding shells had caused trauma to the brain.

If you take that reasoning into consideration, it is troublesome to discover that it was common practice for Doctors to prescribe rest away from the front for Officers, while enlisted men were often accused of being cowards and sent right back out to the battlefield.

Some were shot for cowardice, or punished in a variety of creative ways.  Though enlisted men would be more likely to have been in close proximity of exploding shells than Officers, wouldn’t they?

If you are likely to be shot on the spot or court martialed you aren’t very likely to seek help when you need it most.

It seems that the history of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome is one of shame and persecution.

With soldier suicides being such a huge issue in today’s world, you hear a lot about what they are doing to identify those who need help in an effort to control the climbing death toll.

The struggle today is to get soldiers to admit that they need help before it’s too late.  They aren’t facing a firing squad, but they feel like they are letting their unit down.  They aren’t keeping up their end.

Admitting that you need help with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome feels like admitting a weakness.

When you think of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome you might think of soldiers at war.  However, emergency response workers are on the front lines of daily life.

Identifying those who need help among emergency response workers can be very difficult as well.  Admitting you need help might endanger your job and your livelihood.

Family caregivers are at risk as well.  Continue reading article →