The history of PTSD date back to the early 1800's where military doctors began diagnosing soldiers with "exhaustion" following the stress of battle. This "exhaustion" was characterized by mental shutdown due to individual or group trauma. Around this time there was a syndrome in England called 'railway spine' or 'railway hysteria which bares a resemblance to what we call PTSD today. This was found by people who had been in the catastrophic railway accidents of that time.

In World War I and II the term 'shell shock' and combat fatigue' were terms to describe veterans who exhibited stress and anxiety after being in combat. The official designation of "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder" did not come about until 1980 when the Third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) was published.