A psicanálise de Freud e a psiquiatria militar: um debate em torno das neuroses de guerra

Abstract

This study investigates the historical and conceptual evolution of diagnoses related to war neuroses. The research presents a genealogy of the concept of schock and comparatively revisits antecedent diagnoses of war neurosis that constitute a portion of medical clinical history, drawing particularly on British literature and the works of psychiatrists Jones & Wessely. This review elucidates historical debates surrounding the nosography, semiology, and etiology of pathological conditions manifested during wartime experiences in the 19th and 20th centuries, highlighting the limitations and impasses that shaped therapeutic and diagnostic discussions. The aim is to contextualize the theorizations of Sigmund Freud, particularly his allusions to the topic from the 1920s onward in Beyond the Pleasure Principle. The focus then shifts to Freud’s texts and those of his contemporaries to delineate the specificities of the concepts of trauma and memory—axial elements for the development of psychoanalytic theory and discussions on the aforementioned diagnoses, as well as associated treatment proposals. This analysis is complemented by an examination of Freud’s writings on war and his involvement in the inquiry concerning psychiatrist Julius Wagner-Jauregg, who faced allegations regarding electrotherapy treatments he conducted. Through this, the study underscores the ethical dimension of psychoanalysis and its distinction from contemporaneous psychiatry. The methodology relies on a critical review and analysis of historical and clinical literature to trace the evolution of diagnoses and therapeutic practices linked to schock-related disorders.