Abstract
The historical evolution of the concept of psychological trauma is relevant to the establishment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a syndrome. Exposure to overwhelming terror can lead to troubling memories, which has been a central theme in the literature since the time of Gilgamesh. The isolated anecdote thus evolved into a clinical entity whose medical and psychiatric complexity underwent large-scale development during and immediately after World War I. The scientific integration of the traumatic stress entity included three main steps: (i) a scientific interest created by clinical anecdotes, (ii) the integration of a syndrome when the observable scientific facts can be reproduced using reliable criteria, and (iii) a pathogenic specificity corroborating the fundamentals of the clinical observation.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-III). 3rd ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 1980.
American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-IV). 4th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 1994.
American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 5th ed. Arlington: American Psychiatric Association; 2013.
Barker ER. Caregivers as casualties. West J Nurs Res. 1989;11:628–31.
Barrois C. Les Névroses Traumatiques. 2eth ed. Paris: Dunod; 1998.
Birmes P, Arrieu A, Payen A, Warner BA, Schmitt L. Traumatic stress and depression in a group of plane crash survivors. J Nerv Ment Dis. 1999;187:754–5.
Birmes P, Brunet A, Carreras D, Ducassé JL, Charlet JP, Lauque D, Sztulman H, Schmitt L. The predictive power of peritraumatic dissociation and acute stress symptoms for posttraumatic stress symptoms: a three-month prospective study. Am J Psychiatry. 2003;160:1337–9.
Birmes P, Escande M, Moron P, Schmitt L. L’hystéro-neurasthénie dans les Leçons du Mardi du Professeur Charcot: opposition à la névrose traumatique mais anticipation du trouble de stress post-traumatique? Ann Med Psychol. 2005;163:336–43.
Birmes P, Daubisse L, Brunet A. Predictors of enduring PTSD after an industrial disaster. Psychiatr Serv. 2008;59:116.
Birmes P, Bui E, Klein R, Billard J, Schmitt L, Allenou C, Job N, Arbus C. Psychotraumatology in antiquity. Stress Health. 2010;26:21–31.
Bower GH, Sivers H. Cognitive impact of traumatic events. Dev Psychopathol. 1998;10:625–53.
Brewin CR, Andrews B, Rose S, Kirk M. Acute stress disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder in victims of violent crime. Am J Psychiatry. 1999;156:360–6.
Briole G, Lebigot F, Lafont B, Favre JD, Vallet D. Le Traumatisme Psychique: Rencontre et Devenir. Paris: Masson; 1994.
Brunet A, Weiss DS, Metzler TJ, Best SR, Neylan TC, Rogers C, Fagan J, Marmar CR. The peritraumatic distress inventory: a proposed measure of PTSD criterion A 2. Am J Psychiatry. 2001;158:1480–5.
Bui E, Tremblay L, Brunet A, Rodgers R, Jehel L, Véry E, Schmitt L, Vautier S, Birmes P. Course of post-traumatic stress symptoms over the 5 years following an industrial disaster: a structural equation modeling study. J Trauma Stress. 2010;23:759–66.
Céline L-F. Voyage au bout de la nuit. Paris: Gallimard; 1952.
Charcot JM. Cas d’hystéro-neurasthénie survenue à la suite d’une collision de train chez un employé de chemin de fer âgé de 56 ans. In: Trillat E, editor. Jean Martin Charcot: L’hystérie. Paris: L’Harmattan; 1998. p. 133–42.
Choy T, de Bosset F. Post-traumatic stress disorder: an overview. Can J Psychiatry. 1992;37:578–83.
Classen C, Koopman C, Hales R, Spiegel D. Acute stress disorder as a predictor of posttraumatic stress symptoms. Am J Psychiatry. 1998;155:620–4.
Crocq L. Les Traumatismes Psychiques de Guerre. Paris: Editions Odile Jacob; 1999.
Daly RJ. Samuel Pepys and post-traumatic stress disorder. Br J Psychiatry. 1983;143:64–8.
Davidson JRT. Posttraumatic stress disorder and acute stress disorder. In: Kaplan HI, Sadock BJ, editors. Comprehensive textbook of psychiatry, vol. 1. 6th ed. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins; 1995. p. 1227–36.
Ferenczi S. Deux types de névrose de guerre (Hystérie). In: Oeuvres Complètes, Tome II. Paris: Payot; 1970. p. 238–52.
Freud S. Beyond the pleasure principle. New York: Liveright; 1928.
Friedman MJ. Post-Vietnam syndrome: recognition and management. Psychosomatics. 1981;22:931–43.
Friedman MJ. Finalizing PTSD in DSM-5: getting here from there and where to go next. J Trauma Stress. 2013;26:548–56.
Froissart J. The haunting of Sir Peter. In: Chronicles, book three (1386–8) (trans: Brereton G). London: Penguin Books; 1978. pp. 275–79.
Fullerton CS, Ursano RJ. The other side of chaos: understanding the patterns of posttraumatic responses. In: Fullerton CS, Ursano RJ, editors. Posttraumatic stress disorder. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press; 1997. p. 3–18.
Gersons BP, Carlier IV. Post traumatic stress disorder: the history of a recent concept. Br J Psychiatry. 1992;161:742–8.
Glass AJ. Psychiatry in World War II, Vol. I (1966), Vol. II (1973). Washington, DC: Office of the Surgeon General; (1966–1973).
Grinker R, Spiegel JP. Men under stress. Philadelphia: Blakiston; 1945.
Harvey AG, Bryant RA. Two-year prospective evaluation of the relationship between acute stress disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder following mild traumatic brain injury. Am J Psychiatry. 2000;157:626–8.
Hastings M. Baron de Marbot. In: Hastings M, editor. Military anecdotes. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 1985. p. 196–9.
Herodotus. Book six. In: The histories (trans: De S’elincourt A, Marincola JM). London: Penguin Books; 1996. pp. 325–71.
Homer. The Iliad (trans: Rieu E). London: Penguin Books; 1950.
Janet P. L’automatisme Psychologique. Paris: Alcan; 1889.
Keller T, Chappell T. Historical perspective: the rise and fall of Erichsen’s disease (railroad spine). Spine. 1996;21:1597–601.
Kessler RC, Berglund P, Demler O, Jin R, Merikangas KR, Walters EE. Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2005;62:593–602.
Latham R, editor. The Shorter Pepys. Berkeley: University of California Press; 1985.
Lôo P, Lôo H, Galinowski A. Le Stress Permanent. 2nd ed. Paris: Masson; 1999.
Lucretius. Book four: sensation and sex. In: On the nature of the universe (trans: Latham RE, Godwin J). London: Penguin Books; 1951. pp. 95–128.
Maldonado JR, Spiegel D. Trauma, dissociation, and hypnotizability. In: Bremner JD, Marmar CR, editors. Trauma, memory, and dissociation. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press; 1998. p. 57–106.
Marmar CR, Weiss DS, Metzler T. Peritraumatic dissociation and posttraumatic stress disorder. In: Bremner JD, Marmar CR, editors. Trauma, memory, and dissociation. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press; 1998. p. 229–52.
McFarlane AC. Individual psychotherapy for posttraumatic stress disorder. Psychiatr Clin North Am. 1994;17:393–408.
Micale M. Charcot and les névroses traumatiques: historical and scientific reflections. Rev Neurol. 1994;150:498–505.
Nemiah JC. Early concepts of trauma, dissociation, and the unconscious: their history and current implications. In: Bremner JD, Marmar CR, editors. Trauma, memory and dissociation. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press; 1998. p. 1–26.
O’Brien LS. The history of PTSD. In: O’Brien LS, editor. Traumatic events and mental health. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1998. p. 6–15.
Pepys S. September 1666. In: Grifith T, editor. The Concise Pepys. Ware: Wordsworth Editions; 1997. p. 429–47.
Pinel P. Traité médico-philosophique sur l’Aliénation Mentale. Paris: Brosson; 1809.
Sandars NK. The search for everlasting life. In: Sandars NK, editor. The epic of Gilgamesh. London: Penguin Books; 1972. p. 97–107.
Semprun J. L’Ecriture ou la Vie. Paris: Gallimard; 1994.
Shakespeare W. Act I. Sc. iv. In: Romeo and Juliet. Paris: Flammarion; 1992. p. 70–9.
Shakespeare W. Act V. Sc. i. In: Macbeth. Paris: Flammarion; 1993. p. 246–55.
Shalev AY. Stress versus traumatic stress. In: Van der Kolk BA, McFarlane AC, Weisaeth L, editors. Traumatic stress. New York: Guilford Press; 1996. p. 77–101.
Shalev A, Tyano S. Les mécanismes de confrontation. Une nouvelle conception pathogénique et thérapeutique du syndrome du combattant. Psychol Med. 1986;18:2183–6.
Solomon Z, Benbenishty R, Mikulincer M. The contribution of war-time, pre-war and post-war to self efficacy: a longitudinal study of combat stress reaction. J Trauma Stress. 1991;4:345–62.
Steel Z, Chey T, Silove D, Marnane C, Bryant RA, van Ommeren M. Association of torture and other potentially traumatic events with mental health outcomes among populations exposed to mass conflict and displacement: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA. 2009;302:537–49.
Stein DJ, Chiu WT, Hwang I, Kessler RC, Sampson N, Alonso J, Borges G, Bromet E, Bruffaerts R, de Girolamo G, Florescu S, Gureje O, He Y, Kovess-Masfety V, Levinson D, Matschinger H, Mneimneh Z, Nakamura Y, Ormel J, Posada-Villa J, Sagar R, Scott KM, Tomov T, Viana MC, Williams DR, Nock MK. Cross-national analysis of the associations between traumatic events and suicidal behavior: findings from the WHO World Mental Health Surveys. PLoS One. 2010;5:e10574.
The Younger Pliny. To Cornelius Tacitus. In: The letters of the Younger Pliny (trans: Radice B). London: Penguin Books; 1969. pp. 170–173.
Tomb DA. The phenomenology of post-traumatic stress disorder. Psychiatr Clin North Am. 1994;17:237–50.
Turnbull GJ. A review of post-traumatic stress disorder. Part I: historical development and classification. Injury. 1998;29:87–91.
Ursano RJ, Fullerton CS, Epstein R, Crowley B, Kao TC, Vance K, Craig KJ, Dougall AL, Baum A. Acute and chronic posttraumatic stress disorder in motor vehicle accident victims. Am J Psychiatry. 1999;156:589–95.
Van der Hart O, Brown P, Van der Kol BA. Le traitement psychologique du stress post-traumatique de Pierre Janet. Ann Med Psychol. 1989;147:976–82.
Van der Kolk BA, Weisaeth L, Van der Hart O. History of trauma in psychiatry. In: Van der Kolk BA, McFarlane AC, Weisaeth L, editors. Traumatic stress. New York: Guilford Press; 1996. p. 47–74.
Wilson JP. The historical evolution of PTSD diagnostic criteria: from Freud to DSM-IV. J Trauma Stress. 1994;7:681–98.
Woodham-Smith C, editor. Florence Nightingale. New York: Atheneum; 1983.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this entry
Cite this entry
Birmes, P.J., Bui, E. (2016). PTSD in History: From Uruk to Baghdad. In: Martin, C., Preedy, V., Patel, V. (eds) Comprehensive Guide to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08359-9_131
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08359-9_131
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-08358-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-08359-9
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences