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Stress Effects (April 25, 2003, One)

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Program Summary

General George Patton gained fame during World War II for his brilliant military strategy. He gained infamy for slapping a soldier suffering from shell shock.

The term “shell shock” was coined during World War I to describe the collection of physical and mental symptoms that thousands of soldiers displayed after experiencing the horrors of battle. The symptoms included nightmares, intestinal distress, paranoia, hysterical blindness, rage, depression, and a host of other problems. At first, victims of shell shock were sent home; this often led to feelings of failure and disgrace that compounded the effects of shell shock and derailed recovery. Doctors then began treating cases immediately on the front lines and found that quick intervention speeded recovery and allowed soldiers to stay with their units.

Shell shock has had several names since then—battle fatigue, combat stress, and what we now call post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Ira’s guests discuss how far psychiatric treatment has come in giving validity to the disorder and preparing soldiers not just for the mechanics of war, but for the realities of witnessing death and destruction and coping with emotional tidal waves. Psychiatrists are part of the medical retinue of a campaign, and officers and enlisted men alike receive training in giving each other mental support.

In addition, the military provides troops counseling to help them readjust to life at home and on-going support after their return.

Life-changing events such as divorce, loss, illness, moving, etc., can produce mild to severe anxiety, as can the everyday process of living—missing the school bus, failing a test, puberty, sibling rivalry, a bad hair day. As much as we want to protect our youth, the global village is brought right into our living rooms, exposing children to all sorts of tragedies and tensions. Often children have a more difficult time coping with stress because they haven’t learned to identify and articulate their feelings; awareness and understanding of the signs of stress and providing acceptable avenues for expressing feelings are essential for helping children maintain physical and mental health.

Guests

Dr. Jonathan Shay, staff psychiatrist for the Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic in Boston
Ben Shephard, author, Bristol, United Kingdom
Lt. Col. Elspeth Cameron Ritchie, medical corps psychiatrist and program director of Mental Health Policy and Women's Issues in the Office of the Assistant Defense Secretary for Health Affairs in Falls Church, Virginia

Books Discussed

Shephard, Ben. “A War of Nerves: Soldiers and Psychiatrists in the TwentiethCentury,” Harvard University Press, 2001.

Shay, Jonathan. “Odysseus in America: Combat Trauma and the Trials of Homecoming,” Scribners, 2002.

Related Links and Resources

DefenseLINK News, February 22, 2000: “From 'Shell Shock' to 'Combat Stress'”
DefenseLINK News, February 22, 2000: “Health Officials Battle Combat Stress”
Military Veterans PTSD Reference Manual
National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Village Voice, April 9–15, 2003: “Shell-Shock and Awe”

For Discussion:

• How does the body respond to stress?
• What are some symptoms of stress?
• What can happen if a stress disorder is not treated?
• When was shell shock first recognized? How did the military treat shell-shocked soldiers then? What methods worked better?
• How are soldiers mentally prepared for war today?
• Why is it important for soldiers to be prepared to return home?
• What kinds of things make you feel stressed? How do you feel when you are anxious? How do you relieve your anxiety?

Activities

Nervous Nelly. BusinessWeek.com’s “When Kids Stress Out” is a good overview of children’s reactions to stress. This article can help prepare you to recognize stressors in students and learn ways to avoid or alleviate them.

It’s all in your head. The excellent Neuroscience for Kids Web site examines the physical reaction of the body to stress on the Autonomic Nervous System page, while In the News: Sleep Deprivation discusses the effects of lack of sleep. Barbiturate explains how barbiturates act on the brain and why some people turn to drugs to relieve their stress. Laughter and the Brain talks about the benefits of laughter in stress relief and how sometimes too much laughing can make you sick.

Lending a hand. Striking Out Stress, a lesson plan from Education World, is an exercise in stress relief using an art activity. Stressing for Success (Internet4classrooms.com) is a good lesson plan that has students working in pairs to identify sources of stress and ways to alleviate it. The lesson utilizes Helping Teenagers with Stress, a well-written Web site sponsored by Focus Adolescent Services with many excellent articles about teens and stress.

Puppy love. The healing power of pets is well-documented. Exposure to animal companions lowers blood pressure, speeds recovery, and provides a sense of well-being. Additional information is provided at The Power of Pets [Link updated August 6, 2007] (Petnet.com.au) and Riverdeep’s Pets Provide Companionship. Inquire at your local animal shelter about junior volunteer programs for students who want to work with animals.

It’s a living. Just doing your job can be stressful, especially if you don’t like it. PBS looks at working in Livelyhood, a Web companion site to a series that aired in the late 1990s. The topics are interesting and entertaining (Site Index). How about giving students some insight into your experience at Reinventing the Workday: A Teacher's Life? Students can work in pairs to interview several teachers about what stresses them and how they cope. Then chart their results and present their findings.

Use the search box below to perform a Google search within any of the specifc sites or general domains mentioned in this Activities section.

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