Post-traumatic stress disorder was a major military problem during World War I, though it was known at the time as “shell shock.” The term itself first appeared in the medical journal The Lancet in Feb. 1915, some six months after the “Great War” began.

Who was the first to get shell shock?

Cambridge psychologist and Army medical officer, Charles Myers, was the first person to use the phrase "shell shock" almost 100 years ago. He published his findings in The Lancet in 1915 and his work led to a change in the way such patients were treated. The BBC's Chris Bond takes a look back at his life.

When was shell shock changed to PTSD?

In 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11th as the first observance of Armistice Day, the day World War I ended. At that time, some symptoms of present-day PTSD were known as "shell shock" because they were seen as a reaction to the explosion of artillery shells.