shell shock
Battlefield mental wound
Shell shock is a term from World War I for the psychological trauma soldiers suffered from prolonged exposure to combat—particularly artillery bombardment.
Symptoms included tremors, nightmares, paralysis, and inability to function.
The condition is now understood as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but shell shock persists in casual use for any overwhelming stress: After the merger, the whole department was in shell shock.
Involuntary vivid memory episodes
- nightmaresTerrifying sleep experiences
- hypervigilanceHeightened threat sensitivity
- anxietyPersistent apprehensive distress
- dissociationMental separation from surroundings
numbness · panic · intrusive thoughts · breakdown · neurosis · hysteria · tremors · startle response
Elongated ground excavations
- artilleryLarge-caliber battlefield weapons
- barrageSustained, overwhelming attack
- no-man's-landUnclaimed disputed territory
- doughboysWWI American infantrymen
armistice · Somme · Ypres · Verdun · Western Front · gas attacks · mustard gas · over the top
Mental health medicine
- therapyCurative mental treatment
- psychotherapyTreatment through guided conversation
- counselingProfessional guidance for problems
- recoveryRegaining what was lost
rehabilitation · medication · sedatives · rest cure · hospitalization · convalescence · asylum · diagnosis
Armed forces member
- survivorOne still alive after
- casualtyPerson harmed in disaster
- woundedHaving sustained harm
- dischargedOfficially let go
pension · disability · homecoming · reintegration · comrade · serviceman · war hero · medal
flashbacks
Involuntary vivid memory episodes
- nightmaresTerrifying sleep experiences
- hypervigilanceHeightened threat sensitivity
- anxietyPersistent apprehensive distress
dissociation · numbness · panic · intrusive thoughts · breakdown · neurosis · hysteria · tremors · startle response · thousand-yard stare
trenches
Elongated ground excavations
- artilleryLarge-caliber battlefield weapons
- barrageSustained, overwhelming attack
- no-man's-landUnclaimed disputed territory
doughboys · armistice · Somme · Ypres · Verdun · Western Front · gas attacks · mustard gas · over the top · barbed wire
psychiatry
Mental health medicine
- therapyCurative mental treatment
- psychotherapyTreatment through guided conversation
- counselingProfessional guidance for problems
recovery · rehabilitation · medication · sedatives · rest cure · hospitalization · convalescence · asylum · diagnosis · prognosis
soldier
Armed forces member
discharged · pension · disability · homecoming · reintegration · comrade · serviceman · war hero · medal · remembrance
- shocksanaphylactic shock, electric shock, septic shock, hemorrhagic shock, toxic shock
- warcombat, warfare, battle scenes, battles, soldier
- World War Itrenches, trench warfare, eastern front, Western Front, soldiers
- WWItrenches, no man's land, no mans land, trench warfare, armistice
- combat idiomsstab in the back, dodge a bullet, in the crosshairs, fire away, take a shot
- confusionconfusion, confused, bewilderment, perplexity, baffled
shell shockmental health
Emotional and cognitive well-being
peace of mind · psychological well-being · equanimity · emotional stability · psychological resilience
shell shockflesh wound
Shallow cut, no organs
shrapnel wound · gunshot wound · bodily injury · combat injury · bodily harm