History Main / ShellShockedVeteran

In fiction, this character [[WarIsHell went through hell]] and has [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone done things]] that no amount of ([[ThereAreNoTherapists fictional]]) therapy will heal, and it has left them so irrevocably scarred that they have trouble [[TheStoic feeling, emoting]], or [[SafetyInIndifference caring about the people]] around them and even themself. If they continue to feel anything, it's usually restricted to SurvivorGuilt. Thus they're usually the first to [[IDidWhatIHadToDo do what must be done]] and ShootTheDog. Most Shell-Shocked Veterans will, at some point or another,have a flashback or be seen exhibiting the classic ThousandYardStare; with a blank, emotionless expression and unfocused, empty eyes. The war clearly never ended according to them.

"Shell shock" is a nickname for what was eventually termed [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posttraumatic_stress_disorder post-traumatic stress disorder]], a [[TruthInTelevision real]] condition [[note]] the name is from UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, where it was thought that the concussive force of artillery shells exploding caused the condition. Hence the soldiers were "shocked" by artillery "shells" [[/note]] that participants in a war commonly acquire, but that can also be caused by a multitude of other means, often involving high-stress situations.

* On the ''WebVideo/DreamSMP'', by Season 3, ''multiple'' people on the SMP have experienced trauma to the point of developing PTSD, many of which originated from the wars that have occurred on the server.
** Wilbur's mental health was on the decline even back during the L'Manburg War for Independence, which had [[CynicismCatalyst left him traumatized]]. Wilbur, a man who is very much [[NonActionGuy not a fighter]], found himself in the role of a general and experienced [[spoiler:the infamous betrayal in the [[LuredIntoATrap Final Control Room]] from one of his comrades, Eret, the deaths of himself and his friends]], and only won thanks to [[spoiler:Tommy giving up his discs to trade for independence]]. [[StepfordSmiler He hid how badly it affected him in front of others during his presidency.]] His mask slowly chipped away during the [[ElectionDayEpisode Election Arc]], momentarily dropping it in front of Quackity during their heart-to-heart several days before Election Day, and permanently dropped it a few days into exile as he [[spoiler:[[SanitySlippage spiralled]] to the point of [[DeathSeeker suici]][[SuicideByCop dality]]]].
** Tommy's experience from [[spoiler:the betrayal in the Final Control Room]] left him heavily traumatized as well, as when he and Techno stumbled across the room during an undercover trip to L'Manburg, it caused him to have a full-on panic attack, hyperventilating and scrambling for an exit. His time spent in exile (both in Pogtopia and [[TraumaCongaLine Logstedshire]]) and [[spoiler:his death and revival in Pandora's Vault]] did him no favours either.
** Heavily {{implied}} with Fundy, who had spent most of his life around war (if going by the claim that he was the first L'Manburgian citizen by birth), and his reaction to finding out [[spoiler:he and the other attendees were trapped during the Red Banquet]] was terrified screaming and trying to escape... a situation eerily similar to [[spoiler:the Final Control Room, where he and his war comrades were similarly LuredIntoATrap to be slaughtered mercilessly]]. And this isn't even going into [[spoiler:him being haunted by [[DreamingOfThingsToCome nightmares of things to come]]]]...
** Quackity's an interesting case, as he was apparently diagnosed with PTSD (due to the fact that he was able to name the disorder outright) from being on the receiving end of Techno's [[CurbStompBattle rampages]] during [[CerebusCallback Minecraft Mondays]] before he even joined the server. It's implied that he was handling it fairly well in his early days on the SMP... [[spoiler:until the [[DomesticAbuse Schlatt adminstration]], combined with [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes Techno]] joining the server, which caused even more trauma for him... and then [[TraumaCongaLine everything just went downhill from there]], to the point that he, following in Wilbur's footsteps, ended up [[DespairEventHorizon snapping]] as well and turning into a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds]].

* On the ''LetsPlay/DreamSMP'', by Season 3, ''multiple'' people on the SMP have experienced trauma to the point of developing PTSD, many of which originated from the wars that have occurred on the server.

* ''ComicBook/JessicaJones'': Jessica still has lingering trauma as a result of her time as a slave of the Purple Man, whose effect on her with his ability was essentially Mind Rape.

WarIsGlorious? [[WellThisIsNotThatTrope Not to this one.]]

* ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KtyMcb86go Action Man: Battlefield Casualties]]'', a PSA presented as a BlackComedy parody of ''Toys/ActionMan'' commercials, has PTSD Action Man. "Danger lurks behind every turn!" (mistakes his reflection for an intruder and punches the mirror), and [[DrowningMySorrows drinks heavily and does cocaine to drown out the pain]]. "PTSD Action Man now comes with ThousandYardStare action!"

--> '''Bill:''' ''[as the dolphin]'' You weren't there, man. You weren't there.

WarIsGlorious? [[WellThisIsNotThatTrope Not to this guy.]]

In fiction, this character [[WarIsHell went through hell]] and [[AlwaysMale he]] has [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone done things]] that no amount of ([[ThereAreNoTherapists fictional]]) therapy will heal, and it's left him so irrevocably scarred that he has trouble [[TheStoic feeling, emoting]], or [[SafetyInIndifference caring about the people]] around him and even oneself. If he continues to feel anything, it's usually restricted to SurvivorGuilt. Thus he's usually the first to [[IDidWhatIHadToDo do what must be done]] and ShootTheDog. Most Shell-Shocked Veterans will, at some point or another,have a flashback or be seen exhibiting the classic ThousandYardStare; with a blank, emotionless expression and unfocused, empty eyes. The war clearly never ended for him.

In an [[{{Ensembles}} ensemble show]] or a FiveManBand, the Shell-Shocked Veteran is usually [[TheQuietOne the Quiet]] [[TheBigGuy Big Guy]] or [[TheLancer Lancer]]. This often crosses into AloofBigBrother territory if he insists on being a loner. The Shell-Shocked Veteran is usually, but not always, older than most of the cast; it seems war, like prison, doesn't take long to change you.

If the Shell-Shocked Veteran is out for revenge expect him to become an {{Antihero}}ic HunterOfMonsters, with [[IneffectualLoner varying degrees of success]] and [[LonersAreFreaks sanity]]. Many a ZenSurvivor has elements of the Shell-Shocked Veteran in his BackStory, though the Shell-Shocked Veteran is likelier to eventually prove he's a JerkWithAHeartOfGold or a KnightInSourArmor. Expect him to have a SympatheticMurderBackstory. They may be an OldSoldier, but are probably not a BloodKnight, and definitely not a PhonyVeteran. Some may go FromCamouflageToCriminal and take up a life of crime due to the mental distress they've been put under, while others step into the role of the MentorInSourArmor to impress on the young cadets that war is ''not'' glorious.

''WebAnimation/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicCinematicUniverse'': In the alternate backstory of [[VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic Yuthura Ban]], her Jedi father joined the Mandalorian Wars under Revan's banner, but he was so traumatized by what he had seen and done that instead of following Revan and Malak into the Unknown Regions, he returned to Yuthura and his mother to, in Yuthura's words, hide from the horrors that haunted his dreams. He trashed objects as he woke from his nightmares until he ended up [[PsychicStrangle Force choking]] Yuthura's mother and turning on Yuthura as well when she tried to stop him. As her mother died, Yuthura used her Force potency to kill her father and left to join the Sith.

In fiction, this character [[WarIsHell went through hell]] and [[AlwaysMale he]] has [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone done things]] that no amount of ([[ThereAreNoTherapists fictional]]) therapy will heal, and it's left him so irrevocably scarred that he has trouble [[TheStoic feeling, emoting]], or [[SafetyInIndifference caring about the people]] around him and even oneself. If he continues to feel anything, it's usually restricted to SurvivorGuilt. Thus he's usually the first to [[IDidWhatIHadToDo do what must be done]] and ShootTheDog. Most Shell-Shocked Veterans will, at some point or another, be seen exhibiting the classic ThousandYardStare; with a blank, emotionless expression and unfocused, empty eyes. The war clearly never ended for him.

* "Born In The U.S.A." by Music/BruceSpringsteen.

As war is an incredibly common fact of life throughout history, real life examples are too numerous to count. Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease.

* ShellShockedVeteran/RealLife