Could George have suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from Beatlemania? | Page 4 | Fab Forum | The Beatles Bible

Ron Nasty said
Beatlemania affected them all to a greater or lesser extent, and that George had the most negative feelings toward the phenomenon is hardly a surprise.

Yet, it seems to me, part of the question asked here collates with the thread about his attitude and feelings about the Anthology project, was George’s problem with Beatlemania what made him the increasingly reluctant Beatle as the years went on, and was that because he was suffering from PTSD.

If George suffered from PTSD following Beatlemania it certainly didn’t display itself much during the ’70s, when he was as active as most, but more active than one. What changed George was John’s assassination.

Maybe the question here should be, did the combination of the worst of Beatlemania and John’s assassination leave George with PTSD during his last two decades? For that I think there is an argument.

Yeah, in the 70’s the gates of Friar Park weren’t even locked. 

A guy who knew George told a story about a time when he hung out with him and Olivia in India in 1976. At one point George said this:

“Well,“ he continued, “we’re going up to Benares. It’s either now or twenty years from now, and I’m not sure if I’m going to be around twenty years from now. We’re targets for assassination, you know.” 
“Oh, George, stop that,” Olivia said. “Just stop that!” 

And then there’s stories like these:

“George himself was a generous and intelligent man who suffered no fools, and he was always very private. He used to enjoy a drink at the Row Barge pub in Henley but he didn’t go into the town as much after John Lennon was shot. Mr. Robb’s wife, Mina, added: ‘That really shook him — he used to say that if he landed after a flight, and came out onto the steps of the plane, he would be wondering which person might have a gun.’” [x]

“I remember him visiting me on tour in Germany. He would come to the side of the stage and look out. But he really didn’t want to go on. He would go, ‘It’s so loud and smoky, and they are acting so crazy. I just feel better back here.’” – Tom Petty

“George opts to drive with me from Soho Square to Knightsbridge, but when I can’t find where I left my car, I feel he wishes he hadn’t. A bit like an animal caught in a searchlight is our George when out on the streets and I can see him getting a little twitchy as he and I – a Beatle and a Python – parade up and down before the diners on the pavements of Charlotte Street, looking for my car.” – Michael Palin

I can imagine that when John was killed, it basically confirmed all of George’s worst fears. It honestly breaks my heart thinking about what it did to him to be attacked in his own home. Tony Barrow also made an observation which I think is true. He said that because George was still practically a child when The Beatles took off and had a normal life growing up, it was a lot more difficult for him to handle Beatlemania than the others.