SOCIETY has always struggled to deal fairly with the psychiatric casualties of conflict. In the first world war, the British army shot men who refused to fight, some of whom were known to have suffered from shell shock. The horrific conditions in the trenches left them so mentally damaged they could barely walk, let alone fight. It took until last week for the UK government to decide that an injustice had been done, and that those shot for desertion and cowardice should receive a pardon.
Since 1918, systematic study has given us a better idea of how people can be…
