Posted by Dr. Sonja V. Batten
, Deputy Director
on July 16, 2009
In my previous post, I discussed my observations on public attitudes over the last 20 years toward psychological health issues in general and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) specifically. In my experience, there has been a significant increase in how frequently these issues are publicly discussed, even though the same issues have probably existed for thousands of years. In an article I published with Dr. Philip A. Mackowiak, titled “Post-Traumatic Stress Reactions before the Advent of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Potential Effects on the Lives and Legacies of Alexander the Great, Captain James Cook, Emily Dickinson, and Florence Nightingale,” we share that some of society’s most celebrated historical figures may have experienced PTSD. Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE): At the age of 22, Alexander crossed the Hellespont with an army of just over 30,000 men to conquer the “known world.” After 10 years of bloody battle, enduring near-fatal wounds and ...
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