shellshock
Combat stress disorder
Shellshock is psychological trauma resulting from prolonged exposure to combat, particularly artillery bombardment.
The term emerged from World War I, when soldiers developed tremors, nightmares, and emotional numbness after enduring relentless shelling.
Now largely replaced by PTSD in clinical use, shellshock persists in figurative contexts for anyone left dazed by overwhelming experience: After three kids under five, she was shellshocked.
Also spelled shell shock.
Chronic reaction to horrific events
- flashbacksInvoluntary vivid memory episodes
- nightmaresTerrifying sleep experiences
- hypervigilanceHeightened threat sensitivity
- combat fatigueWar-induced psychological strain
dissociation · triggers · startle response · numbing · anxiety · depression · survivor guilt · therapy
Elongated ground excavations
- artilleryLarge-caliber battlefield weapons
- barrageSustained, overwhelming attack
- bombardmentSustained projectile assault
- frontlineCombat's forward position
no-man's-land · WWI · soldiers · veterans · infantry · bunker · warfare · battlefield
Violent burst of energy
- concussionBrain injury from impact
- detonationExplosive ignition event
- shrapnelScattered explosion fragments
- impactForceful contact or consequence
pressure wave · ringing ears · disorientation · debris · ordnance · deafening · thunderous · percussion
Shocked into mental fog
- stupefiedOverwhelmed into mental blankness
- bewilderedThoroughly puzzled and confused
- disorientedLacking sense of direction
- speechlessUnable to talk
thunderstruck · reeling · shaken · numb · frozen · paralyzed · unresponsive · glazed
PTSD
Chronic reaction to horrific events
- flashbacksInvoluntary vivid memory episodes
- nightmaresTerrifying sleep experiences
- hypervigilanceHeightened threat sensitivity
combat fatigue · dissociation · triggers · startle response · numbing · anxiety · depression · survivor guilt · therapy · counseling
trenches
Elongated ground excavations
- artilleryLarge-caliber battlefield weapons
- barrageSustained, overwhelming attack
- bombardmentSustained projectile assault
frontline · no-man's-land · WWI · soldiers · veterans · infantry · bunker · warfare · battlefield · mortar
explosion
Violent burst of energy
- concussionBrain injury from impact
- detonationExplosive ignition event
- shrapnelScattered explosion fragments
impact · pressure wave · ringing ears · disorientation · debris · ordnance · deafening · thunderous · percussion · tinnitus
dazed
Shocked into mental fog
- stupefiedOverwhelmed into mental blankness
- bewilderedThoroughly puzzled and confused
- disorientedLacking sense of direction
speechless · thunderstruck · reeling · shaken · numb · frozen · paralyzed · unresponsive · glazed · vacant
- wartimerationing, war economy, war bonds, war effort, evacuations
- WWItrenches, no man's land, no mans land, trench warfare, armistice
- warfarebattle, combat, attack, war, armed conflict
- Mental Disordersschizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, PTSD
shellshockpeace of mind
State without anxiety
equanimity · serenity · composure · mental wellness · mental health
shellshockresilience
Capacity to recover quickly
imperviousness · emotional detachment · unaffectedness · hardiness · thick skin
shellshockbattle-hardened
Toughened by combat experience
combat readiness · unbowed · unbroken · steeled · invulnerability