The Effects of PTSD “’I know he’s dead! Don’t you think I know that? I can still like him though, can’t I? Just because somebody’s dead, you don’t stop liking them, for God’s sake—especially if they were about a thousand times nicer than the people you know that’re alive and all’” (Salinger 171). This line from J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye shows the pain that a traumatic event can bring to a person. This kind of traumatic event can lead to a very serious disorder called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD has different effects for every individual who experiences a traumatic situation, but most of the time it will create tension in one’s personal life. PTSD can come from a variety of situations varying from a car accident to an assault, but most of the time the symptoms develop in the same way. Although PTSD may not seem like such a serious disorder, if left untreated it can make one stop caring about one’s life and everyone in that person’s life. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is often developed by experiencing or witnessing an event that makes one feel completely helpless and threatens one’s safety. In the article “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder” by Melinda Smith, she explains:
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can affect those who personally experience the catastrophe, those who witness it, and those who pick up the pieces afterwards, including emergency workers and law enforcement officers. It can even occur in the friends or family members of those who went through the actual trauma.
According to this information PTSD is very easy to acquire when exposed to a traumatic situation. However not all people are affected in the same way, which makes some individuals more prone to it than others. In the same article some of the many causes are listed. They include: “natural disasters, car or plane crashes, terrorist attacks, death of a loved one, rape, kidnapping, assault, sexual or physical abuse, or childhood neglect.” Some of these causes develop more serious symptoms and as explained in Dan Hinkel’s article “PTSD-gene Link Found in NIU Students after shootings,” there is a gene in certain people that can make one more prominent to PTSD than others:
A study released Monday showed that students with particular genetic variations related to the regulation of serotonin — a chemical that affects mood and mental function — displayed PTSD symptoms more frequently than students without the variations.
With PTSD being so easily acquired, it is hard for one to shield oneself from getting it. If left untreated the effects can be catastrophic to ones personal life and can evolve into something so unbearable that one may take one’s own life as a result. The effects of PTSD can send the victim into severe depression. In The Catcher in the Rye, the main character Holden Caulfield witnesses his beloved brother’s death and spends the whole night smashing windows in the garage until he has to go to the hospital. His behavior becomes out of control and he is kicked out of a few schools, but that is only the start of his spiral downward. He begins to drink underage, which can often be associated with coping with PTSD, and eventually he gets a prostitute just to talk to because he is so depressed. Many times PTSD can be mistaken as depression. As said in the article “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder” by Melinda Smith,
“Other common symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder include: anger and irritability, guilt, shame, or self-blame, substance abuse, feelings of mistrust and betrayal, depression, suicidal thoughts and feelings, feeling alienated and alone, and physical aches and pains.”
All these symptoms describe Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye. This shows how substantially PTSD can affect one’s life in so many ways. It has the potential to destroy both the victim’s life, and the victim’s family’s lives. As stated by Melinda Smith in the article “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder”: Helping a
Randomized Controlled Longitudinal Study explores the effects of Sudarshan Kriya yoga, a meditation-based therapy, on U.S. military veterans with PTSD symptoms having served in Iraq and Afghanistan. “We selected Sudarshan Kriya yoga because it has…
PTSD Monique Shaw What is PTSD? • PTSD, or Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, is a psychiatric disorder that can occur following the experience or witnessing of a lifethreatening events such as military combat, natural disasters, terrorist incidents, serious accidents, or physical or sexual assault in adult or childhood. • PTSD is often accompanied by depression, substance abuse, or other anxiety disorders. People Who Suffer From PTSD • People who suffer from PTSD often relive the experience…
PTSD PTSD stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It is a serious anxiety disorder that people usually get after experiencing a traumatic event. These events are often referred to as triggers. There are many events that can cause PTSD. The most common events are battle at war, sexual abuse or assault, traumatic accidents, and the loss of a loved one, usually a child or spouse. There are many symptoms of PTSD which make it hard to diagnose. These symptoms include, but are not limited to, anxiety…
Disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that effects not just war torn military veterans, but can affect anyone at any age that experienced or witnessed a traumatic event. The diagnosis for this disorder is becoming easier to recognize and the prognosis for recovery from PTSD is simple on paper, yet proving to be a tough task due to the toll that it can take on not just the person that has PTSD, but on the sufferers family, friends and others. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a…
PTSD present in Mockingjay (Suzanne Collins) PTSD, also known as Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, is a psychiatric disorder that can occur following the experience or witnessing of a life-threatening event such as military combat, natural disasters, serious accidents etc. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder can be caused by multiple factors such as; - Inherited mental illness (anxiety, depression) - Life experience (severe trauma) - Inherited aspects of your personality (temperament) - The way that your…
Task To gain better understanding of PTSD and it's negative effects on soldiers. Conditions C & E shop full of highly motivated soldiers in a low risk learning environment. Standards Workers in the C & E shop will have a greater knowledge on PTSD. 2 Definition Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is commonly referred to as PTSD. PTSD is defined as a mental health conditioned that's triggered by a terrifying event, either experiencing or witnessing it. PTSD is mainly associated with soldiers returning…
Traumatic Stress Disorder My topic is about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder other wise known as PTSD. PTSD is a type of anxiety disorder. It can occur after you've seen or experienced a traumatic event that involved the threat of injury or death. (PubMEd, 2011) I chose this topic because I have heard so many things about troops coming home with PTSD and just wanted to know what causes it, and how it effects peoples everyday life’s. It just really bothers me hearing about something so extraordinary and…
for PTSD I find many different disorders and diseases to be really interesting, so deciding on a topic to write about, meant narrowing down the disorders and diseases that I would like to learn more about. After thinking about it for a little bit, PTSD was a clear choice. PTSD is a very common disorder that people seem to just overlook. I’m interested in learning about the success rates in therapies, as well as how they work for different PTSD patients. Knowing this will help people with PTSD and…
PTSD Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a psychiatric disorder that can (destroy) ruin peoples lives causing them to be distant from the ones they love. Throughout the book, The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, O’Brien explains through his writing many issues in connection to the Vietnam War. His detailed views of the Vietnam War clearly show how he copes with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. He goes into depth of the incidences that happen, showing the importance of that event while he was…
reported its findings regarding bullying and the effects that it has on children that are bullied.Experts generally agree that bullying help to foster lasting negative effects that can lead to clinical depression and even suicide. It has been futher noted that many victims of bullying exhibit symptoms common with military personnel that are exposed to battle.Victims of bullying are experiencing post-traumatic stess disorder(PTSD). PTSD may occur when people feels that they have lost…