PTSD and Empirical Benefits

WWI Soldier in Trench

For the commemoration of the armistice of the First World War, I attended the “Debate of the Dead” and it was worth the hour of my Monday evening. Starting off comically, four BYU history professors walked onto the stage “possessed” by the spirits of four soldiers from WWI. One was German, one was British, another I believe was African-American, and one was a home-grown Utah boy. I’d like to focus on the latter whose name was Leonard Allred.

Lieutenant Leonard Allred suffered from PTSD or what was first called “shell-shock” because it was believed the close proximity that soldiers had to falling bombs literally vibrated their brain and caused them mental illness. With little empirical research, little thought was given that perhaps the killing, the dead bodies, the mangled friends, AND the explosions probably caused the post-war stress and trauma. Allred (or the “spirit” of Allred) said that there were 3 things recommended to cure shell-shock: sex, alcohol, and insanity, all three he used to cope, leading to the abuse of his wife and her eventual suicide.

Help wasn’t available for the Allred family. But I find it interesting that the greater the adversity, such as war or other stressful experiences, the greater our knowledge grows towards a concept, like psychology. Does anyone remember that Mormon Message called “The Refiner’s Fire”? About the woman whose entire family died of cancer and what she learned from it was the greater sorrow we have, the greater our capacity to feel joy is? In some ways, I relate empiricism to this.

Art Therapy Project of Veteran with PTSD via WikiCommons

Though I don’t think I condone war as a mean for understanding mental illness, I do believe that one of the good things that came out of the war was the empirical psychological research initiated that would ultimately lead to a greater understanding of mental illnesses such as PTSD. Yes, war is an unspeakably traumatizing experience, one I can’t possibly imagine being on the frontlines of. But the sensory experiences of trauma have lead to amazing progress in medicine to help PTSD victims. 

And I think some may wonder, and this is something I have wondered as well: "But without war there wouldn't be PTSD." As modern studies show, not true.

Here is a cool article talking more about this.