3. A New Kind of Warfare
• The battlefields of World War I
featured new weapons, tactics,
and soldiers.
• Weapons such as grenades,
machine guns, flamethrowers,
and artillery caused horrific
deaths.
• Trench warfare exposed soldiers
to daily scenes of filth, death,
and horror.
4. Shell Shock
• Soldiers exposed to the worst
conditions of the war suffered
from a psychological trauma
known as “shell shock”.
• The term was derived from the
heavy artillery battles faced by
soldiers in Europe.
• Soldiers who survived the
intense battles of the Western
Front were most likely to be
afflicted with shell shock.
5. Initial Symptoms
• Soldiers with shell shock were
subject to panic attacks, which
caused men to flee the battle-
field.
• Others would suffer mental or
physical paralysis in the midst
of battle.
• Initially, soldiers suffering from
shell shock were deemed to be
cowards and were punished for
desertion.
6. Shell Shock Symptoms
• Once removed from the battlefield,
some soldiers suffered from
trembling, headaches, ringing in
the ears, dizziness, confusion, loss
of memory, and sleep disorders.
• Early medical opinion classified
these symptoms as a disorder
called “neurasthenia,” or a nervous
breakdown caused by the stress
of war.
7. Diagnosing Shell Shock
• Shell shock was largely
misdiagnosed, with most
soldiers offered little support
or medical attention.
• Symptoms were originally
blamed on exposure to
monoxide gas from shell
explosions.
• By 1917, medical officers
determined the disorder to be
psychiatric rather than
physical.
8. Early Treatment
• Doctors subjected shell shocked
soldiers to such treatments as
shock therapy, electric heat baths,
milk diets, hypnotism, and
placing patients in clamps and
machines.
• Later, more effective treatments
included rest, peace and quiet,
and modest activities such as
walking, gardening, and basket-
weaving.
9. Treatment and Recovery
• Many World War I vets suffering
from shell shock were often left
to deal with their issues alone.
• Over time, many soldiers were
able to recover, while others
struggled with their symptoms
for the rest of their lives.
• Later wars brought more research
and treatment for what became
known as “combat fatigue,” and
later as “post-traumatic stress
disorder” (PTSD).