Can shellshock be passed down from father to son?

Question

my father is a Vietnam War veteran. he doesn,t appear to have any sort of post dramatic stress disorder or anything like that. but for some odd reason i was pretty much born paranoid. everytime i hear a helicopter or plane i look up to find it. everytime i hear anything that even resembles gunshots i duck and start looking around for vantage points. if i hear something that sounds like an RPG i fall to the ground and come close to yelling "RPG". everytime someone says "watch out Jonathan" i duck as if i know karate. however im a big military fan. i plan to join when i grow up. but when i was young and even now i play alot of war video games, i watch alot of military and shoting movies. but i appear to know these military tactics as if i almost was in the military. so i ask " could my father have passed the shellshock he is supposed to have to me"?

Answer 1

NO. 'Shellshock' is now referred to as PTSD and is not genetically linked. You are acting this way in response to the maladaptive perception of reality you have from your involvement in the military/war game interest.
P.S. It's "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder".

Answer 2

It definitely cannot be passed down from your father. However, the attitude and beliefs he may have as a result can be learned by anyone who pays sufficient attention to them. "You are your father's son" is an old saying that refers to how son's take on their father's attitude, belief, morals, the fundamental outlook that makes the man what he is. Even if you believe yourself to be different than your father, you have learned much of who you are from him.

You can follow through and do what you plan to do, or not. But in either case, you should look for other possibilities. Try therapy, try reading a few of these books:

Toward a New Consciousness
The Law of Attraction
The Secret

Answer 3

"shellshock" is not genetic. If your father talks about the 'cong' then you may have picked up your anxiety from there. My father served in Korea and in 'Nam, but won't talk about it, or the medals he received. 3 of 4 of his kids joined the Army, myself included. I would recommend you talk to a guidance counselor at school, to your father directly, or ask to see a counselor. Paranoia is not healthy, in any shape or form.

Answer 4

Sounds like you have Secondary PTSD - that's what people get when they live with someone with PTSD. It's passed on through behavior. If your Dad flinched whenever a helicopter flew over, you would pick up that helicopters are scarey. It's simply conditioning, it's what you learned from him, and that means you can overcome it. It's not your trauma, it's a response to his trauma.
Your conscious awareness of your responses, and your ability to 'give them back' to your father (as in, 'that's what Dad does, I don't have to do that') will eventually allow those responses to fade and disappear.

Answer 5

No, it is not passed down. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can only be gotten from having undergone an extremely stressful event, such as having been in battle or getting raped.

Answer 6

sounds like you just want to be like your daddy. to have shellshock you actually need to have been in combat.

Answer 7

you could of have observed him acting like that at a young age so you naturally followed suit.

Answer 8

NO it can not be passed on

Answer 9

I guess.