JPK Huson 1863
Brev. Brig. Gen'l
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2012
- Location
- Central Pennsylvania
This is very good. The brain actually physically breaks. Micro scans can now show a field of neuro-receptors that once looked like flowering bushes....that after mental trouble or war trauma or whatever....look like a field of dead, thorny stump of a shrub. The actual physical construction of the brain can change. With or without physical trauma.
I have seen pics of these scans and they are amazing. Sad, though. They can probably be viewed online if you are a good searcher.
I personally don't think very many humans are built to withstand the emotional and visual trauma of war. I don't think very many of us were intended to withstand that kind of constant turmoil.
As far as ACW soldier was concerned I think their physically demanding life actually helped. I think ahead of the chance for trauma the physical toil and physical requirements placed on the body and brain chemicals was actually preventative and restorative. Now not to the point of enduring disease, just a great deal of strenuous physical activity. Men on the march were immeasurably healthier than men in camp., also.
A few people seem to do fine...almost like they WERE built for this purpose. Most of those are not high officers but warriors in the ranks.
That's exactly correct, it's quite literally broken and creates new neuro pathways like a creek in flood sometimes settles into a new course. Or some electrical wiring rewired poorly. Agree completely; we as humans just are not glued together to absorb this stuff, wrecks havoc on all kind of functions neurologically. One trauma can overwhelm the brain and cause PTSD- can NOT imagine how many acts which literally can shock your brain off the tracks these men and women witnessed, how frequently they found themselves in fear of their lives. Both can do it- prolonged stressors like war? Oi. Hate to speak in gradients when it comes to PTSD, just have always thought a soldier's PTSD a different, whole dimension of broken.
Yes, for someone's brain not to react to the shock after shock after stunning shock of war would have to mean there was something poorly wired up there in the first place. Since the true sociopath was a lot rarer then than now you have to wonder if there were many unaffected. The one humanizing feature of Dan Sickles exists for me in some of his actions post war. He actually led a sad and somewhat scattered, tragic life. I could be wrong but it's pretty much the kind of evidence which always causes me to think ' PTSD '. Well gee whiz, the man lost a leg- a leg? Tough stuff on top of the carnage he witnessed ( and brought about.. ). I actually am convinced his championing of Gettysburg Battlefield wasn't just some grandiose thing- affected him deeply, he may have been determined to keep it a memorial to those who died on his watch. Guilt is a huge, huge factor/manifestation of PTSD. Was this Dan's? Possibly.