Was PTSD prevalent in Veterans of wars before Vietnam? If not, why not?

DonKiRo

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Was PTSD prevalent after the Revolution, War of 1812, the Civil War, the "Indian Wars," WWI, WWII and Korea as it has been since Vietnam?
If not, why not?
 
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yes. Its been recorded throughout history.

Exposure to traumatic experiences has always been a part of the human condition. Attacks by saber tooth tigers or twenty-first century terrorists have likely led to similar psychological responses in survivors of such violence. Literary accounts offer the first descriptions of what we now call posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). For example, authors including Homer (The Iliad), William Shakespeare (Henry IV), and Charles Dickens (A Tale of Two Cities) wrote about traumatic experiences and the symptoms that followed such events.

Accounts of psychological symptoms following military trauma date back to ancient times. The American Civil War (1861-1865) and the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) mark the start of formal medical attempts to address the problems of military Veterans exposed to combat. European descriptions of the psychological impact of railroad accidents also added to early understanding of trauma-related conditions

is it MORE prevalent recently? I see no reason to think it was, other than perhaps with the development of exploding ordinance , but that certainly predates vietnam.
 
I watch a lot of WW2 videos and documentaries and there are 80-90 year old men saying they have not talked about some of the things they went through until then. They still break down when thinking about their experiences watching friends die and feeling guilt for surviving.

So yes. It is a different generation. they complain less and cry less but the pain lingers until they die.
 
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