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Shell Shocked Wiki

Shell shock is a term that originated during World War I to describe symptoms similar to those of combat stress reaction and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which many soldiers suffered during the war. Before PTSD was officially recognized, the phrase was often used colloquially to refer to a combination of distressing symptoms some experience as a reaction to the intensity of battle. This set of symptoms typically include a feeling of dread or helplessness that may coincide with panic, fear, flight, or an inability to reason, sleep, walk, or talk. During the war, the concept of shell shock was poorly defined. Cases of "shell shock" could be interpreted as either a physical or psychological injury. Although the United States' Department of Veterans Affairs still uses the term to describe certain aspects of PTSD, it is mostly a historical term, and is often considered to be the signature injury of the war. In World War II and beyond, the diagnosis of "shell shock" was replaced by that of combat stress reaction, which is a similar but not identical response to the trauma of warfare and bombardment. Despite medical alerts, long-term trouble was disregarded as a cowardice and weakness of mind by military leadership. In recent decades and following the 2003 Iraq war, shell shock has been linked to biological brain damages, such as concussions and micro-tearing of the brain tissues. There are terms that exist that describe similar characteristics of shell shock, like the thousand-yard stare, which both come from the stresses of war.