Ancient Warriors Suffered From PTSD

A new study claims to have found evidence that Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) existed over 3,000 years ago.warriors

The paper was written by Prof. Hacker Hughes, from Anglia Ruskin University, and Dr. Abdul-Hamid, Consultant Psychiatrist at the North Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust. The research they put forth shows evidence that psychological traumas were suffered as far back as in Mesopotamia (ancient Iraq) during the Assyrian Dynasty,who ruled from 1300 to 609 BCE.

The report is called, Nothing New under the Sun: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders in the Ancient World, and in it they state;

Herodotus’ account of the Athenian spear carrier Epizelus’ psychogenic mutism following the Marathon Wars is usually cited as the first documented account of post-traumatic stress disorders in historical literature. This paper describes much earlier accounts of post combat disorders that were recorded as occurring in Mesopotamia (present day Iraq) during the Assyrian dynasty (1300–609 bc). The descriptions in this paper include many symptoms of what we would now identify in current diagnostic classification systems as post-traumatic stress disorders, including flashbacks, sleep disturbance and low mood. (more…)

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