What is the 1000-yard stare?
The 1000-yard stare is the blank gaze of someone dissociating from trauma. The phrase describes the unfocused or fatigued look a person who has experienced trauma or acute stress—for instance, due to military combat—might have. They may seem like they're staring into space, are deep in thought, and not paying attention to the world around them.
1000-Yard Stare Symptoms
The 1000-yard stare is often joined by other symptoms of dissociation. The 1000-yard stare rarely appears on its own, since it is typically itself one of many symptoms of trauma. Someone with a 1000-yard stare is likely to also exhibit other signs of dissociation as a result of traumatic stress. For instance: They may have an unfocused or blank expression on their face. They might seem “zoned out” and unaware of what’s going on around them. They may not respond to what you’re doing or saying and may seem uninterested.
What causes the 1000-yard stare?
The 1000-yard stare may be caused by dissociation from a traumatic experience. You may have heard of “fight or flight”—the body’s automatic responses to intense stress. Dissociation is another stress response—a psychological, rather than physical, one—and involves the person feeling detached from themselves and the world around them as a means of surviving and coping with a traumatic situation, such as war, a car accident, or assault. Certain mental health conditions may make someone more likely to experience dissociation, such as acute stress disorder, borderline personality disorder (BPD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and others.
Where did the term "1000-Yard stare" come from?
The term comes from the name of a 1945 Tom Lea painting of a Marine. World War II correspondent Lea’s painting of an anonymous Marine at the Battle of Peleliu, titled Marines Call It That 2000-Yard Stare, appeared in Life magazine in 1945. In the painting, the Marine stands in front of a charred battleground and stares blankly ahead. Though the piece’s title didn’t appear in the magazine, the painting’s publication popularized the phrase “2000-yard stare,” which later became better-known as the “1000-yard stare.” Lea based his painting on a real Marine, about whom he said: “He left the States 31 months ago. He was wounded in his first campaign…. Two-thirds of his company has been killed or wounded. He will return to attack this morning. How much can a human being endure?” The term “1000-yard stare” became synonymous with combat shock or shell shock in military personnel. “The look in their eyes,” former Marine Corporal Joe Houle described it, “was like the life was sucked out of them…. After I lost my first friend, I felt it was best to be detached.” Over the decades, the term grew to encompass not just military personnel with PTSD, but anyone who struggles with dissociation.
Treating Dissociation & the 1,000-Yard Stare
Speak to a mental health professional to get a diagnosis. Though the 1000-yard stare isn’t a diagnosable medical term, dissociation is. Discuss your symptoms with a doctor in order to see what might be causing the symptoms and to obtain a formal diagnosis so that you can take steps to combat dissociation. Diagnosis may include: A physical exam, in which your doctor examines you, discusses your symptoms, and reviews your personal history. They may have you take specific tests to rule out conditions that may cause symptoms like memory loss and feeling separate from reality—for instance, a head injury, certain brain diseases, lack of sleep, and drug or alcohol use. A mental health exam, in which your doctor talks with you about your feelings, thoughts, behavior, and symptoms.
Consider talk therapy. The primary treatment for dissociative disorders is talk therapy or psychotherapy. “The therapist will teach you different ways to manage the anxiety and the trauma episodes with CBT cognitive behavioral therapy and meditation and mindfulness,” Sachs says. He recommends finding a therapist with training or experience working with clients with PTSD. Sachs encourages people to “find a therapist who you really like…. The research shows if you like your therapist, you're going to get better.” He adds that it “seems obvious,” but many people will pick a therapist who’s “the best in the field” or who “wrote a book,” but they don't like them, and so the therapy fails. “You really need to feel comfortable and safe,” he says. The therapy will involve “unpacking the trauma and exposing yourself to the trauma again in the safety of the therapist's office over time,” Sachs says. “And what happens is, when you re-expose yourself to the trauma…over and over, your body doesn't react to it in the same way…because it becomes boring.” “Most of the time,” Sachs says, “we hide and don't share our trauma. And it just lives in our body, and our minds…but when you share it in the safe space of a therapist's office, you're kind of cleansing yourself of it.” Your doctor may also prescribe antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, or antipsychotic medications. There are no medicines that specifically treat dissociation, but these medications may help treat the mental health disorders that lead to the dissociation or 1000-yard stare.
1000-Yard Stare Meme
Lea’s painting was meme-ified in the early 2010s. Marines Call It the 2000-Yard Stare went viral on the internet as a reaction meme to portray traumatization and fear. It began on Reddit in 2014, but didn’t gain widespread popularity until the early 2020s. The meme has been used facetiously to express disappointment or fear—for example, in November 2022, the “Kanye West lyrics posted randomly” Facebook page posted the image with a caption that read, “When that one song you love more than yourself reaches tiktok.” Variations on the 1000-yard stare meme include the Kurt Angle 1000-Yard Stare and the Lorax 1000-Yard Stare.
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