Shell shock, used since World War I, is a term used to describe the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) suffered by soldiers in war who have seen combat. The term has since been replaced by PTSD but is still widely used and has entered general use as an idiom.
The term shell shock is often attributed to British psychologist Charles Samuel Myers during the first world war. However, he did not actually invent the term, which had been used since the latter 1800s. The term refers explicitly to psychological trauma induced by intense bombardment, as from shells and other ammunition, where soldiers were pinned down and helpless to defend themselves. Originally an ill-defined concept, such cases of PTSD have since been thoroughly studied and described. Today, the noun shell-shock refers to such cases of PTSD, and the adjective, shell-shocked can refer either to the condition of being thus traumatized, or can be used more generally and idiomatically, as defined here.
Meaning of Idiom ‘Shell-Shocked’
1. Suffering from shell shock or combat-related PTSD, an adverse trauma reaction to combat resulting in severe psychological problems including depression, irritability, anger, fear, anxiety, apathy, fatigue, sleeping problems, and behavioral or personality changes.
2. Extremely mentally confused or disoriented; nervous, frightened, or in shock, especially after an unexpected and perhaps traumatic event.
Sentence Examples
“The whole family was shell-shocked after the car accident but nobody was seriously injured.”
“My grandfather was a great man but he remained shell-shocked from the war for most of his life.”
“Just because you aren’t whistling Dixie after coming home from a combat tour doesn’t mean you’re shell-shocked.”
“To be honest I couldn’t believe he had done it. I was shell shocked when I found out he had stolen our life savings and ran.”
Origin
In the original sense, this idiom has been used since the latter part of the 1800s. It passed into general use sometime during the 1900s.
