Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a diagnosis which was first made following the Viet Nam war. Veterans who saw combat in Viet Nam were found to have a number of symptoms not clearly documented in any other diagnostic category. In fact, these symptoms had been observed in combat veterans in many previous wars. It seems that PTSD is constantly being rediscovered.
War has always taken a toll. Accounts throughout history tell of nightmares and other emotional problems associated with the horrors of war. It seems that we repeatedly discover the effects of trauma on humans every time we go to war. Terms like "combat fatigue" and "shell shock" were used in the past to describe some of the effects of combat. These terms are misleading because they imply that the effects of combat are short term. In the DSM-IV the term "Acute Stress Disorder" is used for a similar syndrome lasting less than 30 days.
War has always taken a toll. Accounts throughout history tell of nightmares and other emotional problems associated with the horrors of war. It seems that we repeatedly discover the effects of trauma on humans every time we go to war. Terms like "combat fatigue" and "shell shock" were used in the past to describe some of the effects of combat. These terms are misleading because they imply that the effects of combat are short term. In the DSM-IV the term "Acute Stress Disorder" is used for a similar syndrome lasting less than 30 days.
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