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The thousand-yard stare (also referred to as the two-thousand-yard stare) is the blank, unfocused gaze of people experiencing dissociation due to acute stress or traumatic events. The phrase was originally used to describe war combatants and the post-traumatic stress they exhibited but is now also used to refer to an unfocused gaze observed in people under any stressful situation, or in people with certain mental health conditions. The thousand-yard stare is sometimes described as an effect of shell shock or combat stress reaction, along with other mental health conditions. However, it is not a formal medical term. This painting by the war artist Thomas C. Lea III, titled Marines Call It That 2,000 Yard Stare, popularized the term after it was published in Life in 1945. It depicts an unnamed US Marine at the Battle of Peleliu, which took place in 1944.Painting credit: Thomas C. Lea III