A doctor who served with the Army in Lebanon in 1978 told the High Court yesterday he believed the condition known as post-traumatic stress disorder really only came into vogue in the 1980s.
Dr David Morgan said the more he heard about PTSD, the more he believed it was an entity "that can't be fully classified" as the symptoms appeared to be wide-ranging.
His understanding was that it was due to a person experiencing a very traumatic event. He agreed some people coped with trauma better than others. He would have expected that a then serving soldier in Lebanon, Private Christopher Knowles, who came to see him in 1978, would have told him about problems such as shaking.
Dr Morgan was testifying in the continuing action for damages by Mr Knowles (45), of Clondalkin, Dublin against the Minister for Defence.
He alleges the Army was negligent in failing to treat his PTSD which, he claims, developed as a result of his experiences in Lebanon in 1978.
Yesterday, Dr Morgan said he had diagnosed Mr Knowles in June 1978 as suffering from "reactive depression due to home separation". He took a detailed medical history from him based on what Mr Knowles said.
He had decided Mr Knowles needed medical treatment and medical monitoring and prescribed anti-depressants. He did not believe he would have come to any different conclusion today regarding Mr Knowles 's condition in 1978.
Dr Morgan said a number of soldiers who travelled to Lebanon in 1978 had experienced homesickness and had needed medication. He said Mr Knowles was relocated to another company which was not in the front line and where there would be more people and more support.
He agreed that medical records relating to Mr Knowles stated that, on his discharge from the Army in 1979, his depression was "fully resolved". That record was compiled by another doctor, now deceased.
The case resumes on Tuesday.