Posttraumatic stress disorder revisited

In this review we trace the history of and professional discussion on psychological traumatization due to "railroad spine syndrome", "shell-shock syndrome", and "war neuroses", as well as the more or less endemic "posttraumatic stress disorder" of today. Psychological trauma engenders longlasting consequences in the biological, intrapsychic, and social organization of individuals. Medical experts have reported a shift in attention from exogenous to endogenous and back to exogenous causes, as indicated by new diagnostic systems (DSM-IV and ICD-10). As far as the relevant literature is concerned, the medical profession demonstrates the same partial amnesia as their patient counterparts. The purpose of this review is to overcome this fragmented memory and thus reach a more integrated view of what constitutes psychological trauma by reviewing trauma-related articles published in Psychosomatic Medicine. Moreover, we point out the direction in which research is desperately needed and ought to develop.