Off The Shelf

摘要

"PTSD," the most current term used to describe symptoms of trauma from abuse, war, natural disaster, and death is so frequendy heard these days that many of us have become desensitized to its full meaning. Although this condition has likely existed since human beings have endured trauma, PTSD has only been recognized as a formal diagnosis since 1980. It was called by different names as early as the American Civil War, when combat veterans were referred to as suffering from "soldiers heart." In World War I, symptoms that were generally consistent with this syndrome were referred to as "combat fatigue." Soldiers who developed such symptoms in World War Ⅱ were said to be suffering from "gross stress reaction," and many troops in Vietnam who had symptoms of what is now called PTSD were assessed as having "post-Vietnam syndrome." PTSD has also been called "batrle fatigue" and "shell shock."