3,000-year-old Mesopotamian tablets document the earliest known case of PTSD

[Disir]

Researchers studying ancient texts from Mesopotamia dating to 1300 BCE came across descriptions of symptoms that sound remarkably similar to post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. As such, this may be the earliest depiction of PTSD in history.

The findings were reported in the journal Early Science and Medicine by Walid Khalid Abdul-Hamid of Queen Mary University of London and Jamie Hacker Hughes of the Veterans and Families Institute at Anglia Ruskin University. Speaking to BBC News, the researchers said that the Assyrian soldiers “described hearing and seeing ghosts talking to them, who would be the ghosts of people they’d killed in battle – and that’s exactly the experience of modern-day soldiers who’ve been involved in close hand-to-hand combat.”
Nothing new under the sun
According to the researchers, professional soldiers enlisted by the Assyrian Dynasty in Mesopotamia, present-day Iraq, between 1300BC and 609BC first went through a year-long bootcamp, which also involved civil works like building roads, bridges, and other infrastructure for the kingdom. The soldiers were then sent to war for a year and, if they made it back in one piece, they were allowed to return their families for one year before repeating the cycle again.
3,000-year-old Mesopotamian tablets document the earliest known case of PTSD (zmescience.com)

This came out last month. One would think that for as long as this has been going on there would be more thought into making sure it didn't happen.

 

[Damaged Eagle]

*****SMILE*****

 

[Tom Paine 1949]

Fascinating. Reminded me of Achilles in the Illiad (mentioned in your link): “Achilles, hero of the Trojan war, is commonly held to be an ancient sufferer of PTSD as well.” How easy it has always been to sing peons to mad warriors, who seem to fight like Gods. Whole tribal societies used to think Gods entered into battle beside their favorite armies. We still praise our warriors, though they and we are still sometimes basically just macho barbarians fighting for women, glory, money or ... whatever.

 

[Eric Arthur Blair]

"The damage soldiers face is not only to the flesh".

 

[Picaro]

Those particular ancients became less impressive to me when they found the mass human sacrifice pits in their excavated ruins a couple of years ago. They weren't any more 'advanced' than the Aztec vermin they pre-date.

 

[Picaro]

Fascinating. Reminded me of Achilles in the Illiad (mentioned in your link): “Achilles, hero of the Trojan war, is commonly held to be an ancient sufferer of PTSD as well.” How easy it has always been to sing peons to mad warriors, who seem to fight like Gods. Whole tribal societies used to think Gods entered into battle beside their favorite armies. We still praise our warriors, though they and we are still sometimes basically just macho barbarians fighting for women, glory, money or ... whatever.

So you can always just shoot yourself and save someone else the trouble; no need for you to be a passive enabler.

 

[gtopa1]

Fascinating. Reminded me of Achilles in the Illiad (mentioned in your link): “Achilles, hero of the Trojan war, is commonly held to be an ancient sufferer of PTSD as well.” How easy it has always been to sing peons to mad warriors, who seem to fight like Gods. Whole tribal societies used to think Gods entered into battle beside their favorite armies. We still praise our warriors, though they and we are still sometimes basically just macho barbarians fighting for women, glory, money or ... whatever.

That "whatever" is the big one; it's called "FREEDOM".....................the rest are just trimmings.

Greg

 

[Tom Paine 1949]

Was Achilles fighting for “freedom” when he slew the noble Hector and dragged his body behind his chariot before the gates of Troy? Or was he just “mad” that his young lover Patroclus had been slain in battle?

Achilles and Patroclus - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

And wasn’t the whole war pointless according to the legends? Fought over an unfaithful King’s wife, over honor, glory and spoils?

 

[Disir]

Yes, if you count his own. Achilles' mother was a sea nymph that was courted by Zeus and Poseidon. However, it was prophesied that Achilles was going to be one bad mofo and upset the Mt. Olympus world order.

 

[anotherlife]

These Assyrians and Babylonians are also well documented in pioneering the art of hypnosis and psychiatry. So this may also be planted into those soldiers on purpose, before combat, not necessarily PTSD.