Killing

For humans, killing is not easy, even when necessary to save our own lives. As humans, we all fear physical confrontations, even if they are necessary, such as during self-defense. In addition, we have an even greater fear of having to kill another human.

We all fear something, but a fear that can cause trauma, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), is the fear of close-range, person-to-person aggression. Fears of such things as heights or close quarters are considered a phobia or dysfunction but they do not cause trauma. Fear of death or injury is usually not sufficient to cause PTSD. An automobile accident may cause terrible physical injuries but most people do not suffer mental trauma merely because of the accident. However, many rape victims do, even though there was no physical injury.

More than anything else, intentional, overt, human confrontation has the greatest ability to modify and influence human behavior. In World War II, strategic and carpet-bombing caused much destruction and death but had little physiological effect on soldiers or civilians and did little to discourage the enemy’s will to fight. While the close-in artillery and hand –to-hand trench fighting of World War I and the machine gun attacks of the Korean War caused a large number of psychiatric casualties.