Shell Shock Or Traumatic Neurosis

Since the end of the 1914-18 war most writers on war neurosis have come to the conclusion that there is no separate entity that can be termed war neurosis or shell shock, in fact the use of the latter term has ceased.

The writer of this short article has been treating soldiers suffering from neuroses since 1920 and although he would agree that the majority of patients (ex soldiers) who exhibit psycho-neurotic syndromes, present nothing new either in symptoms or psycho pathology, yet there are certain patients who do present a syndrome, quite different from that of the ordinary psycho neurosis. These patients are soldiers who have suffered at least one single severe traumatic experience such as being “blown up” or buried or both by shell explosion.

The symptoms presented by these patients are:

1. Intense continuous headache

2. Great irritability

3. Increased sensitiveness to noise and light

4. Insomnia and Battle dreams

5. Varying forms of impotence

6. Great fatiguability