Why were the symptoms of shell shock so different than today’s PTSD?

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If you watch videos online of shell shock theres all kinds of weird symptoms. Dancing, jumping up and down, seizure like convulsions. But I’ve never seen a modern example of this. From my understanding, modern PTSD is the same thing as shell shock or in WW2 “combat fatigue”. Why is that?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

Shell shock is not quite the same as PTSD; it is a separate disease. Shell shock is a neurological affliction cause by constant exposure to artillery fire. Shell shock physically damages the body. This is you see people shake and convulse like crazy, their brain and nerves are damaged. In fact, once removed from the front lines, [many victims of shell shock got better with treatment](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWHbF5jGJY0); their bodies repaired themselves.

PTSD is a psychological illness. In this case, a person’s body is not physically damaged to the same extent as a person with shell shock.

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