Post-traumatic stress disorder: supportive evidence from an eighteenth century natural disaster

Parry-Jones, Brenda; Parry-Jones, William Ll.

doi:10.1017/s0033291700026799

Cited by 28 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Despite this etymological problem, some have speculated that PTSD can be detected in Homer's Iliad (Shay 1991), the diaries of Samuel Pepys (Dally 1983), in an account of Italian avalanche victims of 1755 (Parry-Jones & Parry-Jones 1994) or in veterans of the American Civil War (Dean 1997). These observations are predicated by the belief that PTSD is a universal trauma reaction, a timeless disorder that has only recently been identified.…”

Section: Early War Syndromesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Historical approaches to post-combat disorders

Jones¹

2006

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Almost every major war in the last century involving western nations has seen combatants diagnosed with a form of post-combat disorder. Some took a psychological form (exhaustion, combat fatigue, combat stress reaction and post-traumatic stress disorder), while others were characterized by medically unexplained symptoms (soldier's heart, effort syndrome, shell shock, non-ulcer dyspepsia, effects of Agent Orange and Gulf War Syndrome). Although many of these disorders have common symptoms, the explanations attached to them showed considerable diversity often reflected in the labels themselves. These causal hypotheses ranged from the effects of climate, compressive forces released by shell explosions, side effects of vaccinations, changes in diet, toxic effects of organophosphates, oil-well fires or depleted-uranium munitions. Military history suggests that these disorders, which coexisted in the civilian population, reflected popular health fears and emerged in the gaps left by the advance of medical science. While the current Iraq conflict has yet to produce a syndrome typified by medically unexplained symptoms, it is unlikely that we have seen the last of post-combat disorders as past experience suggests that they have the capacity to catch both military planners and doctors by surprise.

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Section: Early War Syndromesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Historical approaches to post-combat disorders

Jones¹

2006

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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“…It was not the first time F T syndromes had been reported: the Sumerians in 2,000 BC, in lamenting over the destruction of Nippur (Kramer,198l), told of anguish and suffering among the population. And throughout ancient recorded history, similar symptoms appeared many times in accounts of natural and man-made catastrophes, an example being a review of effects of an avalanche on villagers in the Italian Alps in 1755 (Parry-Jones & Parry-Jones, 1994).…”

mentioning

confidence: 75%

A century of controversy surrounding posttraumatic stress‐spectrum syndromes: The impact on DSM‐III and DSM‐IV

Kinzie

Goetz

1996

Journal of Traumatic Stress

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The authors describe historical clinical reports that preceded the development of criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and influenced the formation of PTSD in DSM-IV. These reports were identified from extensive search of 19th- and 20th-century American and European medical literature. Relevant findings from the most representative reports are described and discussed. Since the mid-19th century, clinical syndromes resembling PTSD have been described. However, understanding of PTSD has been complicated by questions of nomenclature, etiology, and compensation. Nomenclature placed PTSD syndromes under existing psychiatric disorders: traumatic hysteria, traumatic neurasthenia, or traumatic neurosis. Etiological issues have been concerned often solely with organic factors, pre-existing personality impairments, intrapsychiatric conflicts, and social factors. Only after World War II and the concentration camp experiences did the role of severe trauma in PTSD become recognized. Even though controversy remains, much progress in understanding PTSD has been made.

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“…Most of the early writings consisted of letters to the editor (Hudson, 1990) regarding historical documentation of psychological trauma, and Daly's (1983) paper regarding Samuel Pepys's accounts of the great fire in London in 1666. Only towards the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century did a set of works (Ben‐Ezra, 2001, 2002, 2004; Birmes et al, 2003; Parry‐Jones & Parry‐Jones, 1994) lay the groundwork for stimulating an interest and attraction to the field under discussion (Birmes et al, 2010; Micale, 2009; Morrissette, 2004). The history of psychological trauma is of interest to scholars from the fields of history and mental health alike.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Traumatic reactions from antiquity to the 16th century: was there a common denominator?

Ben–Ezra

2011

Stress and Health

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The history of psychological trauma is neglected in the psychiatric literature in comparison with other mental diseases. Most mental disorders have a long documented history (e.g. depressive disorders and anxiety disorders), and boast scores of medical sources since ancient times. Although scarce, there is evidence of psychological trauma in historical, literal, mythical and medical manuscripts. These fragments provide us with hints of psychological trauma throughout human history, shedding a bit of light on the concept of psychological trauma. The author presents evidence of psychological trauma from antiquity to the Renaissance era. The paper has four parts. Each part corresponds to a different historical period. The four periods in human history are: antiquity, ancient Greece and Rome, the dark and medieval ages and the European Renaissance era until the 16th century. The author inquires as to why psychological trauma was neglected and remained obscure for centuries, and whether there was a common denominator of psychological trauma that is beyond culture, race, gender and time. The paper aimed to address these inquires. In conclusion, these aspects in the history of psychological trauma are of scholastic and practical importance, and may also contribute to the broader understanding of modern psychotraumatology. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Post-traumatic stress disorder: supportive evidence from an eighteenth century natural disaster

Cited by 28 publications

References 33 publications

Historical approaches to post-combat disorders

Historical approaches to post-combat disorders

A century of controversy surrounding posttraumatic stress‐spectrum syndromes: The impact on DSM‐III and DSM‐IV

Traumatic reactions from antiquity to the 16th century: was there a common denominator?

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