PTSD

Both excellent points......there is actually a physical / physiological affect explosions have on the brain; shockwaves and what not. It seems there are connectors that travel from the grey gooey bits into other grey gooey bits through firmer pink bits that get stretched and worn causing them to be less efficient; think of worn wiring or thread bare clothing.
When the brain is too close to an explosion or the body is subjected to a violent action the skull (hard exterior) travels one direction, the brain (pink wrinkly thing) moves in the opposite and the center of the brain (grey gooey center) moves in another. This action is exacerbated by the head being farthest from the center of gravity and being subjected to movement through various axis at the same time.

Hence we have "Traumatic Brain Injury" or TBI very fascinating stuff actually, I hope it wasn't too technical.

One of my favorites

 

I also read where some of Merrill's Marauders had difficulty due to malnutrition, (like difficulty walking and functioning.) They were viewed as being mentally weak or having combat fatigue (mental) but for some it was literally malnutrition. Lots of interesting avenues to consider. Edited to add that my son in law has PTSD and just recently was diagnosed with some sort of TBI from an explosion several years ago. He is partially disabled from the military.

 

So what would you call this? Interestingly, records show that on 7/7/45 he was awarded the CMB retroactive to 2/7/45, the the day after his discharge.

 

Combat medic for Special Forces? Are you asking if the cardiac arrhythmia could have been related to combat stress? I would only be guessing if I answered yes. Possibly a panic disorder? Maybe maybe not. It would have been terrifying to me. I imagine my heart would have been acting crazy. I call him a hero...... Regardless of the cause.

 

You're tripping. LOL. The post I referred to is right above mine? Did you ever find it? Drink more coffee.

 

A post by Woolley12 asking about an award given the day after a hospital discharge for a cardiac arrhythmia?

 

To borrow from Sigmund Freud, sometimes a cardiac arrhythmia is just a cardiac arrhythmia.

 

Perhaps this soldier experienced shell shock, then battle fatigue, followed by a medical condition. But not PTSD.

 

I was born in 1940 and grew up in rural Alabama with a fair number of veterans. Mental problems due to stress in combat were rarely discussed as experiences in combat were rarely discussed in general. A B-17 pilot that lived nearby never fully recovered from his experiences, was referred to be suffering from shell shock. One soldier returned to our town was said to have the same condition. He never worked again, the pilot only marginally. I think it was the primary chosen term for our area, a farming community of about 28,000 with no veterans' hospital. If you lived in a similar town in Minnesota you might have heard combat fatigues instead. The first time I heard PSDT used was in the Vietnam period. Most WW2 vets returned to a normal life as soon as possible and though no doubt many suffered slightly to greatly it was in private .

 

Rural Arkansas most of my life (rural Alabama last 5 years) and I only heard the term shell shock, then PTSD years later.... It was a very private topic and rarely discussed.

 

I'm gonna leave this right here without expounding on it too much. Psalms 144 is the soldiers prayer. Killing in war or self-defense is not murder. I have a morbid sense of humor. $247 a month comment cracked me up. PTSD is no joke, but laughing is good medicine.

 

As I type this, there is an original Ranger in his last days/hours who had a very hard time coming all the way home. But he did, and he made his first jump tandem in his 80's to prove that jumping wasn't that tough The discussion among the children of WWII Rangers related their own fathers individual journey and to the movie "Let There Be Light". It made me think of this thread. Peace.