How does Mrs. Dalloway portray shell shock after World War I?

In Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf portrays shell shock—a condition now recognized as post-traumatic stress disorder—through the character of Septimus Warren Smith, a veteran struggling to navigate post-World War I society.1

Woolf uses Septimus to force readers to engage directly with the internal and external effects of the condition, which was poorly understood and often treated as a blanket diagnosis during the 1920s. Septimus is depicted as suffering profoundly, yet he remains isolated because those around him, including his doctors, are unable to grasp the reality of his trauma.1

The novel highlights the conflict between Septimus’s internal experience and the rigid societal expectations of the time. When faced with the threat of institutionalization, which he views as a violation of his soul, Septimus chooses to end his life. By contrasting his tragic fate with the life of the socialite Clarissa Dalloway, Woolf illustrates the "disjointed mess" of existence and the profound, often invisible, scars left by the war.1

Would you like to explore how Woolf’s stream-of-consciousness technique specifically enhances the portrayal of Septimus's mental state?