Post Traumatic Stress: A History of War Trauma
Warfare
History Hit
4.5 • 943 Ratings
🗓️ 13 May 2022
⏱️ 44 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Whether talking about shell shock, war neurosis, combat trauma or PTSD; the impacts of war zones on those who fight in them or encounter them have long been discussed. With increasing understanding, however, definitions and treatments continue to change.
James is joined for this episode by Dr Heather Venable from the Department of Airpower at the United States Air Force Air Command and Staff College Montgomery, Alabama. Together, they question the definition of Post Traumatic Stress as a disorder and compare its symptoms and causes with that of moral injury. They then journey through understandings of the experience and lasting effects of combat, from Ancient Greece to civil wars to present day bomber pilots and drone operators.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | How has post-traumatic stress disorder evolved over time throughout history based on those who serve the types of weapons used and the types of conflicts that have been fought. Is it even appropriate to use the term |
| 0:28.0 | disorder when we talk about PTSD? Is it better to talk about post-traumatic stress? |
| 0:35.0 | And is there a difference between PTS and moral injury? |
| 0:39.8 | It's hard to define these terms, and it's hard to define the characteristics that are displayed |
| 0:44.8 | depending on the conflict that is fought. |
| 0:49.3 | On today's episode of the Warfare Podcasts, I've invited Heather Pace Venable on. Now Heather is |
| 0:55.8 | associate professor at the Air Command and Staff College of the US Air Force at |
| 1:00.8 | Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama, the United States. She works with |
| 1:05.5 | both serving and former military personnel every single day. Heather takes us |
| 1:11.4 | through this long history of what she calls post-traumatic stress. |
| 1:16.7 | She takes us back through to the ancient Greeks. She helps us grapple and |
| 1:21.3 | toil with this difficult topic and these difficult terms. |
| 1:26.0 | And she takes us through into modern warfare, where we ask whether or not, as wars get ever more |
| 1:31.7 | distant, ever more remote in terms of Western warfare, US warfare at least, |
| 1:36.7 | and they're defined by robotics, remotely piloted vehicles, drones, |
| 1:42.1 | will we see PTS as a feature in future conflict? |
| 1:46.8 | I know you're going to find this one truly fascinating. |
| 1:49.7 | So here is Heather Pace Venable on the history of post-traumatic stress. |
| 1:57.0 | Hi Heather, welcome to the warfare podcast. |
| 2:01.0 | Thank you, I'm very excited to be here. |
| 2:03.8 | Well, it's great to have you on the podcast, |
| 2:05.7 | and thank you so much for taking the time |
... |
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