IN INTERNET chat rooms, veterans ask if anyone else is having a similar experience. “I had an incident where a small Iraqi boy had his leg blown off. His screams haunt my thoughts. Is what I am experiencing normal?” asks IraqCowboy. “They gave me sleeping pills, but it doesn’t stop the nightmares,” says Chucky. “The doctor says my husband has PTSD,” posts Sam. “Does that count as a combat-related illness?”
What is now known as PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder, was called shell shock back in the days of the first world war. Sufferers have harrowing flashbacks, and alternate between…
