ptsd intro

The DSM has evolved over time, with PTSD changing from a personal weakness in the 1950s to an acknowledgment of the impact of traumatic events in 1980. Before, those with symptoms were viewed as weak, but now PTSD is a common diagnosis linked to soldiers and abuse survivors. Abby, a soldier returning from WWII in 1952, would not have been diagnosed with PTSD back then. One major example of the DSM changing over time is post-traumatic stress disorder. This is because the diagnosis started as a personal weakness but changed into the impact of traumatic events. In today's society, PTSD is a common diagnosis. When you hear it, your mind most likely jumps to soldiers, abuse, or other traumatic experiences. But if we look back at the first DSM from the 1950s, this diagnosis did not exist. Dead patients with these symptoms were seen as unstable and weak. The VA explains that PTSD only became a part of the DSM in 1980. This addition was based on the shift of trauma being understood as something bigger than just an individual weakness. Now, let's imagine a soldier named Abby comes home after World War II and visits a clinic in 1952.