Curse of the Black Dog
In the past, the condition now known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) went by various other names - shell-shock, battle or combat fatigue, even hysterical neurosis. It was rarely treated, being considered shameful, something to hide and never admitted to. Untold thousands of men who had been through the trauma of war would have been impacted by it to some degree. Combine this with a genetic tendency to depression, plus a perfectionist or conscientious personality, and there is a recipe for major difficulties at some stage. Inspired by a death notification discovered while indexing archives for familysearch.org, I went in search of the life story of one man who reached the tipping point after an impressive career military duty and service but who probably feared loss of control above everything. Quite a lot about a person's background - and even character - can be discovered by something as simple as the details on a marriage entry - in this case, that of his parents.