Pratt points out the fallacy in the thinking of many psychiatrists who believe that all a neurotic patient needs for recovery is to leave the military setting and to return to his family and familiar surroundings. Two hundred and fifty-six veterans were followed by a letter five months after they were discharged from the army. One hundred and forty-two of these replied. Most of them showed no improvement. Many complained of palpitation.

Ninety percent of those who answered the questionnaire stated that they were employed despite the failure of their symptoms to improve. In discussing the psychopathology of the breakdowns, Pratt compares the army with the patient's own home. As long as the patient is in the hospital and still in the service, the conflict remains external and tangible. Once he has returned to civilian life, the conflict becomes subjective and continues to generate attitudes which prolong the neurotic illness.