SHELL-SHOCK.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16850, 28 September 1922, Page 7

SHELL-SHOCK.

REPORT OF INVESTIGATION UNHAPPY HUSBANDS COOD SOLDIERS The War Office Committee ,on “Shell-shock.*’ which sat under the chairmanship of the Right Hon Lord Southborough, has published its report. which is now available through London papers. The first task of the committee was to limit the use of the term. It was found that nervous disorders arose from numerous causes other than shock from high explosives. There we*e no reliable statistics covering cases of shell-shock. Among the fifty-nine witnesses heard, Lieutenant-General Sir Join Goodwin said that troops who had been rushed through a short period of training were more liable to break down. Well-trained and disciplined troops suffered less. Another contributory factor was the confining of tioops to one sector for too long a tune particularly the Ypres salient. Miners and agricultural labourers and men who lived open-air lives were less liable to nervous disorders than clerk or artisan, was the judgment- of General Lord Horne. Major W. J. Aide instanced two battalions stationed side by side in a certain salient. The one with good the other, in which the morale was weak, had heavy shell-shock casualties Professor 0. Roussy. late consultant in neurology to the French Army, instanced fatigue, shortness of food, an 1 alcohol as contributory factors. Cowardice he. defined as lack of self control. It was difficult to distinguish between cowardice and emotional shell-shock.” but in the one case the man was suffering from a genuine illness, and in the other casq simply from lack of self-control. An enormous proportion of those who broke down said Dr F. B. Fanning, had been neurotics previouslv, and resented military service. Many ascribed their breakdown to horses which they had never had to deal with ir civil life. Dr E. Mapether made allowance fo" the fact that in certain cases the con. dition was caused by remorse, horror, and grief at thd experiences of wav iather than fear. Isolated duties had also affected men’s nerves. An emotion like fear, which had to be repressed. Squadron-Leader W. Tyrrell pointed out, demanded an enormous squandering of nervous energy The most likely type of man for • shellshock” is the brooding, introspective. self-analysing man. . . . Men of high intelligence . . . who adopted the fatalist attitude . . . fortified themselves, and for the most par*. An M. 0.. he said, found these signs oi approaching breakdown : The wild. fighting type become* quiet and moody. The sullen tvpe becomes sudcjenlv and talkative. The careful man becomes suddenly reckless. The previously well-behaved ma i perpetrates petty crimes, etc. The happily married man took one thought for himself and two for his wife and children. The unhappily married man was generally a good soldier, and usually got killed. Most witnesses were of opinion that the stress of war rarely produced insanity in the stable man. but that t acted as a factor upon those with predisposition. The committee f came to the conclusion' that there was no justification for the belief that shellshock was a direct cause of insanity, oi that service patients still in asylums were originally oases o-f shellshock who have since become insane. Many of the higher grades of mental defectives had been enlisted, and some trained into efficient soldiers. Among the preventives mentioned are : The promotion of morale, the detection of nervous abnormalities by officers, the provision of adequate rest, short spells of front-line duty, sanitation . Separate teratment of shell-shock suasion and suggestion. baths. and massage. Hypnotic sleep may be beneficial in certain cases, but not in the majority. Freudian psvcho-analv >is is not favoured. The best possible expert advice should be sought- with v view to differentiating cowardice front neurosis, before or at trials for serious j military, offences.