History ShellShockedVeteran / LiveActionTV

%%* ''Series/TheHour'': Both Hector Madden and Laurie Stern are this. It manifests in very different ways.

** And finally there's Grzegorz, who, after somehow slipping through a wormhole from Poland to Belgium, and being plucked off the beaches of Dunkirk, finds himself in a Yorkshire hospital for shell-shock patients.

* [[SweetHomeAlabama Confederate]] vet Johnny Yuma on ''Series/TheRebel''.

** Paula is traumatized by being taken hostage and threatened, getting counseling afterward.

** Sloane, who joins the main cast in Season 15 (played by Maria Bello), lost her entire squadron to and endured nine months of torture from the Taliban during Operation Enduring Freedom. Fifteen years later, she's still traumatized. Needless to say, she and Gibbs bond over their experiences.

*** [[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS01E01E02Emissary The first episode]] deals heavily with Commander Sisko's depression after losing his wife during a particularly [[CallBack notorious]] [[POVSequel battle]]. Much later on, after the Dominion War is in full swing, he begins having hallucinations and several nervous breakdowns.

* ''Series/DrQuinnMedicineWoman''. When Dorothy's son comes to visit and is soon revealed to be a morphine addict. Later, when Dr. Mike's presumed dead fiancé shows up, he explains that after being injured, he was held prisoner at Andersonville (a Confederate prison camp with conditions so dreadful that 1/3 of its inmates died and a visiting official became ill with influenza within ''one hour'' of his arrival). His staunch response to her horrified reaction -- "I DON'T want to talk about that" -- implies that his time there was particularly traumatic.

* ''Series/GangRelated'': Daniel suffers from nightmares of his experience and explosive rage after his kidnapping by gansters who nearly killed him too before their demand was met. Ryan, who was in the US Special Forces, recognizes his symptoms quickly.

* ''Series/GangRelated'': Daniel suffers from nightmares of his experience and explosive rage after his kidnapping by gansters who nearly killed him too before their demand was met.

* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': Commodore Decker from "[[Recap/StarTrekS2E6TheDoomsdayMachine The Doomsday Machine]]". When Kirk finds him, his mind is about as wrecked as his ship, largely due to SurvivorGuilt.
* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'':
** Captain Jean-Luc Picard himself suffers this trope due to the events of "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E26S4E1TheBestOfBothWorlds The Best of Both Worlds]]", when he is assimilated into the Borg and obliterates an entire fleet of Starfleet ships. He is certainly ''not'' over it by the events of ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'' where he turns much more brutal with the machines. This event connects Picard to the next Trek protagonist...
** {{Downplayed|Trope}} with Miles O'Brien, who fought in the Federation-Cardassian War [[GreatOffscreenWar prior to the show]], including the massacre on Setlik III. Although he doesn't display any overt signs of post-traumatic stress, he clearly carries scars, which comes out mostly as FantasticRacism towards the Cardassians (which he himself is not always aware of). His former CO and fellow veteran, Captain Maxwell, [[GeneralRipper doesn't handle it as well]], and ends up [[RogueSoldier taking his ship]] on a thinly justified RoaringRampageOfRevenge in "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS4E12TheWounded The Wounded]]". Although he was right that the Cardassians were up to no good, this was a rationalization, and randomly blasting Cardassian ships out of space wasn't doing the Federation any favors.
* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', being DarkerAndEdgier than the rest of ''Franchise/StarTrek'', shows particular interest in PTSD. Not surprising when you consider that the last two seasons depict the largest and bloodiest war ever experienced by the Federation, but even pre-Dominion War episodes look into it.
** [[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS01E01E02Emissary The first episode]] deals heavily with Commander Sisko's depression after losing his wife during a particularly [[CallBack notorious]] [[POVSequel battle]]. Much later on, after the Dominion War is in full swing, he begins having hallucinations and several nervous breakdowns.
** Kira's entire character arc is about recovering from this. She starts out as obstructive and mistrustful of Starfleet, but gradually realizes how the emotional baggage she picked up as a freedom fighter can compromise her job and put Bajor at risk.
** A rare non-combat variant in "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS04E19HardTime Hard Time]]". O'Brien is put in a simulation for ([[YearInsideHourOutside what seems to be]]) twenty ''years''. When he finally comes out, he's a very changed man, constantly reminded of the horrors he faced, [[spoiler:and guilt for killing his cell mate]].
** Nog experiences PTSD after he loses a leg in combat in "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS07E08TheSiegeOfAR558 The Siege of AR-558]]", and stays in Vic Fontaine's Las Vegas holosuite program for a while to cope in "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS07E10ItsOnlyAPaperMoon It's Only A Paper Moon]]".[[note]]According to the Star Trek Wikia, his acting in the latter episode, especially the part when he finally breaks down and starts to cry, was so close to real life that he afterwards was contacted by several combat veterans who complimented him on his work.[[/note]]
** The seventh season episode "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS07E13FieldOfFire Field of Fire]]" shows what happens when this is mixed with [[spoiler:a Vulcan. One of only a handful of survivors of a crew after a traumatic battle, he repressed his emotions so much he snapped and became a cold sniper targeting anyone who was happy. Why? In his own words, "Logic demanded it"]].
* Season 3 of ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' turns [[TheCaptain Archer]] into this. This is particularly evident during the after-action debriefing, when [[AssInAmbassador Soval's]] criticisms drive Archer to a ''very'' pissed-off TheReasonYouSuckSpeech about how the Vulcans wouldn't help him save Earth.

%%** An earlier page quote was Delenn's response to a veteran of the Earth-Minbari war who kidnapped her; decidedly one of the scarier foes she would face.
** Given the eventual revelations about Delenn's past, in some ways she herself could be considered a Shell-Shocked Veteran who turned her pain inwards. Many of her personality traits could be explained as a result of unresolved and deeply internalized grief over [[spoiler: what she started]]. It's unclear if this is how JMS designed the character but this is how Mira Furlan said she played the role.

** Also, the man who thought he was [[NapoleonDelusion King Arthur]], in the episode "A Late Delivery from Avalon." [[spoiler:As it turned out, he was the gunner of the Earthship that fired first on the Mimbari vessel carrying Delenn and the revered leader of the Mimbari. By the end of the episode, Delenn's forgiveness and kindness to him helps him out of his pain]].

** And a lurker who once saw his entire squad wiped out by an nasty alien on an outer rim outpost.
--->'''Lurker''': They're coming through the walls!\\
'''Garibaldi''': I know where he's been. I've had the same nightmare.

* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': Commodore Decker from "The Doomsday Machine". When Kirk finds him, his mind is about as wrecked as his ship, largely due to SurvivorGuilt.

** Captain Jean-Luc Picard himself suffers this trope due to the events of "The Best of Both Worlds", where he is assimilated into the Borg and obliterates an entire fleet of Starfleet ships. He is certainly ''not'' over it by the events of ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'' where he turns much more brutal with the machines. This event connects Picard to the next Trek protagonist...
** {{Downplayed|Trope}} with Miles O'Brien, who fought in the Federation-Cardassian War [[GreatOffscreenWar prior to the show]], including the massacre on Setlik III. Although he doesn't display any overt signs of post-traumatic stress, he clearly carries scars, which comes out mostly as FantasticRacism towards the Cardassians (which he himself is not always aware of). His former CO and fellow veteran, Captain Maxwell, [[GeneralRipper doesn't handle it as well]], and ends up [[RogueSoldier taking his ship]] on a thinly-justified RoaringRampageOfRevenge. Although he was right that the Cardassians were up to no good, this was a rationalization, and randomly blasting Cardassian ships out of space wasn't doing the Federation any favors.
* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', being DarkerAndEdgier than the rest of ''Franchise/StarTrek'', showed particular interest in PTSD. Not surprising when you consider that the last two seasons depict the largest and bloodiest war ever experienced by the Federation, but even pre-Dominion War episodes look into it.
** The first episode deals heavily with Commander Sisko's depression after losing his wife during a particularly [[CallBack notorious]] [[{{POV Sequel}} battle]]. And much later on, after the Dominion War is in full swing, he begins having hallucinations and several nervous breakdowns.
** Nog experiences PTSD after he loses a leg in combat and stays in Vic Fontaine's Las Vegas holosuite program for a while to cope.[[note]] According to the Star Trek Wikia, his acting in the episode ("It's Only A Paper Moon"), especially the part when he finally breaks down and starts to cry, was so close to real life that he afterwards was contacted by several combat veterans who complimented him on his work.[[/note]]
** Kira's entire character arc is about recovering from this. She starts out as obstructive and mistrustful of Starfleet, but gradually realizes how the emotional baggage she picked up as a freedom fighter can compromise her job and put Bajor at risk.
** A rare non-combat variant, in one of the many "torture O'Brien" episodes. He was put in a simulation for ([[YearInsideHourOutside what seemed to be]]) twenty YEARS. When poor O'Brien finally came out, he was a very changed man, constantly reminded of the horrors he faced, [[spoiler:and guilt for killing his cell mate]].
** In the seventh season episode "Field of Fire" shows what happens when this is mixed with [[spoiler:a Vulcan. One of only a handful of survivors of a crew after a traumatic battle, he repressed his emotions so much he snapped and became a cold sniper targeting anyone who was happy. Why? In his own words, "Logic demanded it"]].

* Aiden Black from ''Series/{{Cracked}}'' is a police officer who suffers from symptoms of PTSD after being involved in two fatal shootings. The episode "Old Soldiers" revolves around a shell-shocked Afghanistan vet planning to go out in a [[SuicideByCop blaze of glory]] and ends with Aiden joining a support group. In "Faces" we meet ex-ChildSoldier Benjamin Omari, a veteran of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who ends up joining Aiden's support group.

* From ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'', Frank tries to pass himself off as this. The rest of the Gang see through it, but he doesn't miss a beat.
-->'''Frank:''' Look, I didn't go to Vietnam just to have pansies like you take my freedom away from me.\\

** The same season also has a rare [=FBI=] variant. During her training in the [=FBI=], Betty encountered a SerialKiller and was trapped in a well for two weeks while being forced to listen to him cruelly taunting as his prisoner. When we first see Betty after the TimeSkip, she was at a therapist's office discussing her [=PTSD=]s from the encounter.

** An earlier page quote was Delenn's response to a veteran of the Earth-Minbari war who kidnapped her; decidedly one of the scarier foes she would face.

*** Pictured on the main page, the War Doctor. Instead of going by the name "Doctor", he was a warrior, choosing to shelve his principles to fight a war which was so big, he couldn't keep running from it and was eventually sucked right into the heart of the battle. He spent at least 400 years in battle through the Time War, and by the very end of it all, was absolutely sold on the notion of ending it by his own hand, unleashing a doomsday weapon which would cause a ''[[GodzillaThreshold double genocide]]''. [[spoiler:Thankfully, he got a miraculous second chance at avoiding this fate]]. After [[TheNthDoctor regenerating]], his dark legacy had such an effect on the Doctor that he [[UnPerson wiped him from his memory]] [[spoiler:until learning that he went out of that life as a hero]].

* ''Series/LAsFinest'': In one episode, an Army soldier with PTSD (who's gone AWOL from his unit and is now a homeless drug addict) is a murder witness. Nancy, who's served in the Navy, uses her military past and difficulty adjusting to help him open up by empathizing with him. It later turns out she has lingering PTSD from her service in Iraq, which is triggered during Season 2.

* ''Series/LAsFinest'': In one episode, an Army soldier with PTSD (who's gone AWOL from his unit and is now a homeless drug addict) is a murder witness. Nancy, who's served in the Navy, uses her military past and difficulty adjusting to help him open up by empathizing with him.

* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' has Captain Jean-Luc Picard himself suffer this trope due to the events of "The Best of Both Worlds", where he is assimilated into the Borg and obliterates an entire fleet of Starfleet ships. He is certainly ''not'' over it by the events of ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'' where he turns much more brutal with the machines. This event connects Picard to the next Trek protagonist...

* ''Series/{{Impulse|2018}}'': After [[DateRape she's been raped]] by Clay, Henry shows clear signs of PTSD, including traumatic {{flashback}}s and [[TraumaButton triggers from similar things]] (being touched by a man-even consensually-and if she's close to a truck, as the assault took place in one).

* ''Series/{{Impulse|2018}}'': After [[AttemptedRape nearly being raped]] by Clay, Henry shows clear signs of PTSD, including traumatic {{flashback}}s and [[TraumaButton triggers from similar things]] (being touched by a man-even consensually-and if she's close to a truck, as the assault took place in one).