The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-12-17

global war thus far is that the per- centage of psychiatric cases is lower than for comparable period in World War I.
 Reputable l1euro psychiatrists - the specialists in mental and nervous diseases-rnake more interesting ob- servations in trying to explain this fact. The effect of bombings on the nervous systems of the civilian popu- lation has been far less than was expected, and this has proved true right through the campaigns in Ethiopia, in Spain and in Great Britain. People may be terrified while raid is on, but they recover quickly and they learn to take it.
 The correct name for all nervous and mental breakdowns caused by the impact of war on human beings Is war neuroses," or disease of the nervous system. During the last war the term shell shock" was com. monly used, but psychiatrists today say that this is misnomer, and that never was any such disease as shell shock. Their broom is the fact that civilians under lombard ment in today's war don't get 1t. REAL WAR OF NERVES
 What was accepted as shell shock In the last war was caused not by the explosion of shells in barrages and bombardments, but by the fact that the last war was static warfare, trench warfare, war of fixed post. tions, where the soldiers had to live for days and weeks in the same deadly monotony, with bad good, unsanitary living conditions, cooties. dysentery, constant strain.
 The most serious outbreak of what went for shell shock in the last war came after the battle of the Somme in 1916. Then was neuroses became almost and epidemic in the British army, which had taken a terrific beating mad had been forced into series of costly retreats. Psychiatrists today are of the opin- ion that war neuroses is more fre- qnent in defeat. Attacking troops, vitorious troops have low incid- ence.
 After Dunkirk and the retreat across the channel in the present war, the British army experienced again many cases of war neuroses. The depressive influences of utter rout played on the soldiers minds to cause this increase in psychiatric cases. The symptoms were much the same-increased body tension, exag- gerated refleXes, tremors. terrifying dreams. But pSychiatrists handling those cases made two amazing ob- servations. Most of these cases oi war neurosis developed in soldiers who had bad psychiatric back ground-soldiers who had been un- stable in civilian life, or who had had relatives with neuro- -psychiatric case histories.
 SURPRISE NO. ?
 The second surprising observa- tion was that nearly all of the cases of war neuroses made quick recov- cries. One good nights sleep. rest and relaxation, bath and change into clean clothes plus few good hot meals under the belt proved to be all the psychological cure that was necessary.
 As result of the speedy recovery of the post-Dunkirk cases of war neuroses, many of the hospital beds which the British medical authori- ties had prepared and set aside for psychiatric cases were soon emptied And, after the blitz bombings, when the civilian population failed to develop war neuroses by the thou- sands of cases that had been anti cipated, there was a further relief from the anticipated strain on hos pital facilities.
 Today's war has in practically every campaign been a war of move- ment. Where this mobile warfare obtains. say the psychiartrists. there l is a psychological background oi change and frequent relief which does not produce the same mental effect as a war of position with its long periods of sub-standard food l opd 1iviY1U nnpdifiopc