Combat Stress Reaction

This highly readable text details the findings of an exhaustive series of studies of Israeli combat veterans, documenting the effects of combat stress reaction on mental and physical health, social interaction, and military effectiveness. It provides mental health professionals, trauma victims, and military personnel with an unparalleled source of information, and offers a unique perspective of contemporary Israeli culture.

Produced for the Canadian Defence Academy Press by 17 Wing Winnipeg Publishing Office.

Combat stress casualties are not necessarily higher in city operations than operations on other types of terrain. Commanders and NCOs need to have the skills to treat and prevent stress casualties and understand their implications for urban operations. The authors review the known precipitants of combat stress reaction, its battlefield treatment, and the preventive steps commanders can take to limit its extent and severity.

Combat Stress Injury represents a definitive collection of the most current theory, research, and practice in the area of combat and operational stress management, edited by two experts in the field. In this book, Charles Figley and Bill Nash have assembled a wide-ranging group of authors (military / nonmilitary, American / international, combat veterans / trainers, and as diverse as psychiatrists / psychologists / social workers / nurses / clergy / physiologists / military scientists). The chapters in this volume collectively demonstrate that combat stress can effectively be managed through prevention and training prior to combat, stress reduction methods during operations, and desensitization programs immediately following combat exposure.

This document provides information on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and war-related stress for veterans & their families. It begins with background on PTSD and traumatic events, then describes common symptoms of PTSD and why they develop. The next section reviews problems associated with PTSD, such as depression, anxiety, and impacts on work & family. The final sections provide suggestions on coping with the disorder and describe treatment methods.

The application of psychiatry to war and terrorism is highly topical and a source of intense media interest. Shell Shock to PTSD explores the central issues involved in maintaining the mental health of the armed forces and treating those who succumb to the intense stress of combat. Drawing on historical records, recent findings and interviews with veterans and psychiatrists, Edgar Jones and Simon Wessely present a comprehensive analysis of the evolution of military psychiatry. The psychological disorders suffered by servicemen and women from 1900 to the present are discussed and related to contemporary medical priorities and health concerns. This book provides a thought-provoking evaluation of the history and practice of military psychiatry, and places its findings in the context of advancing medical knowledge and the developing technology of warfare. It will be of interest to practicing military psychiatrists and those studying psychiatry, military history, war studies or medical history.