A Brief History of Psychological Trauma and "Shell Shock"

In the late 1800s French doctor, Jean-Matin Charcot used hypnosis to treat his patients with "hysteria" (neurological symptoms with no medical basis). Until Charcot, hysterics were thought to be malingering (faking); and were not taken seriously. Freud was a student of Charcot and he came to the conclusion that traumatic and upsetting events caused hysteria. Freud developed his unpopular, "seduction theory" which stated, "...the thesis that at the bottom of every case of hysteria there are one or more occurrences of premature sexual experience..." (Abnormal Psych worksheet). This theory was met with a "stony, universal silence," and was thus abandoned and altered to focus on intrapsychic conflict (id, ego, superego) around sexuality.

It was not till WWI that society was again confronted with the reality of psychological trauma. Mental breakdowns represented 40% of British causalities. These breakdowns were initially referred to as "Shell Shock" because they were believed to be caused by tiny hemorrhages or lesions to the brain. The problem with this was that soldiers who were never around explosions were developing "shell shock" as well.  Symptoms included: high levels of anxiety, uncontrollable muscle tics, or muscle rigidity, nightmares, flashbacks and hallucinations, all of which were formerly seen as symptoms of female hysteria, and associated with obstructed or repressed emotions. 
The video below is actual footage of a patients suffering from "shell shock." The most obvious symptom of the first man is his extreme muscle rigidity.



If the breakdown was a 'paralysis of the nerves', then massage, rest, dietary regimes and electric shock treatment were invoked. If a psychological source was indicated, the 'talking cure', hypnosis, and rest would speed recovery. The reintroduction of hypnosis severed as an emotional catharsis by bringing the repressed memories of the trauma to the surface, and thus restoring the victim's dissociated memory.
"In all instances, occupational training and the inculcation of 'masculinity' were highly recommended. As the medical superintendent at one military hospital in York put it, although the medical officer must show sympathy, the patient 'must be induced to face his illness in a manly way'" (Bourke, Shell Shock During World War I) . As with most mental illness social support is the best predictor of the patient's outcome. Sadly, many physicians were not educated on the topic of "shell shock" and treated their patients for the symptoms instead of the underlying problem, or even worse, figured the patients were malingering (faking) in order to escape their military obligations.