I was having a chat with my mom about PTSD, and we realized that most of the history surrounding the condition that we know of pertains to WWI and forward. So, are there any records of PTSD-like behaviors in soldiers from before? How far back?
Or is it possible that a combination of different cultural practices and societal norms redefine what "trauma" is, such that the common traumatic events that may lead to PTSD in our time and culture (i.e. war) wouldn't necessarily trigger PTSD-like symptoms in people of other eras and culture? And if so, do we have any evidence or description of PTSD-like symptoms following a "traumatic" event in such an individual's life?
This question comes up here fairly often! Here are some previous answers about it:
u/hillsonghoods wrote a long post on why 'Did Ancient Warriors Get PTSD?' isn't such a simple question.
u/Iphikrates answered Did ancient civilians get PTSD? What do we know of the psychological effects of war on noncombatants, and how they dealt with them?
And for some other previous answers there is this section in the FAQ.