Long before PTSD became a diagnosis, people were already living with the lingering effects of trauma, a body that stayed on alert, memories that refused to stay in the past, and reactions that didn’t make sense even to the people experiencing them.

In this episode of Before It Had a Name, we explore the evolution of trauma from “shell shock” in World War I to combat fatigue and eventually post-traumatic stress disorder. Along the way, the story expands beyond war, revealing how overwhelming experiences can reshape the nervous system long after the danger is gone.

When does survival stop being adaptive? And what happens when the body remembers something the mind is trying to forget?

 Topics: PTSD, shell shock, trauma, mental health history, psychology, nervous system, war, behavioral science 

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Before It Had a Name explores the history of mental health diagnoses and the stories behind the labels.

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