Combat Stress
Yan E Oei
ECPI University

Abstract

This research paper investigates the neurological disorder of Combat Stress. Combat stress is a short-term affliction caused by the traumatic effects of war. The historical perspective of combat stress were considered. The effects of combat stress on physical, emotional, mental and psychological parameters were analyzed. The ways of medical and psychological treatment were also mentioned.

The cost of war weighs tremendously high, especially if one considers the individual human suffering and not just the loss of government property. When soldiers find themselves in the extraordinary and life threatening conditions, there is a high percent of combat and operational stress from which they may suffer. Combat stress compromises the service-member's emotional, mental and behavioral well-being beyond the lines of the battlefield. Combat stress is a neurological disorder caused by the traumatic effects and accompanied by “melancholy, insomnia, weakness, loss of appetite, and anxiety” (Weaver & Steward, 1988, p3). It is relevant to mention that combat stress is not a continuous disorder but a short-term affliction; and in this case, should be differed from the post-traumatic stress disorder which is long-term and brings more serious consequences. Among the general symptoms of the combat stress are exhaustion, fatigue, fear, uncertainty, and the inability to concentrate as if the person is switched off from the world.
Combat stress is the common disorder that has been affecting people since the dawn of war. Nevertheless, it was first conceptualized in 1986 by Silverman (Weaver & Steward, 1988, p3). The American Civil War provoked the largest amount of combat nostalgia in the 19th century. In the first years of war, there were more than 5000 cases that further were determined to be “combat stress”