The nostalgia of soldiers of wars of the Empire

From the beginning of the humanity, the soldiers have been affected by the traumatic suffering. However, it will be necessary to wait for the 18th century and for the development of the modern medicine to obtain the first scientific observations of the psychic trauma. The doctors of the Armies call nostalgia the depressive psychological disorders affecting the soldiers of the napoleonic troops. This affection finds its origins in the homesickness, known for a long time by military authorities and awarded mainly to the remoteness of the home. It is to the doctor Johannes Hofer for having made this mood disorder as a real nosographic entity that he names nostalgia at the end of the 17th century. Among the causes, the remoteness of the familiar environment, the doctors incriminate the harsh living conditions and the "deviant" sexual interests. More interesting, among the etiological causes specific to the war, they recognize the exposure to the danger and the confrontation with the death. This article suggests to provide the clinical picture of the nostalgia, the etiological causes determined by the scientists of the time and treatments were administered to the traumatized unfortunates. (C) 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.