Prince Zuko Of Avatar: The Last Airbender

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Prince Zuko of Avatar: The Last Airbender - A PTSD Case Study For this assignment, I chose to analyze Prince Zuko, a character from one of my favorite shows as a teenager, Avatar: The Last Airbender. After examining his personal history, contributing factors, and any symptoms presented during the course of the series, a diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) best fits his situation. Furthermore, although this person obviously does not exist, identifying potential treatment options assists in understanding the condition as a whole. In the show, Zuko was born as prince of the Fire Nation, one of four regions identified by which element their residents could “bend.” As an adolescent, he suffered numerous traumatic events that likely …show more content…

Nevertheless, when viewed in conjunction with the other categories of abnormality, Zuko’s mental state clearly remains unhealthy. For example, he rarely experiences positive emotions, maintaining a high level of distress. He even explicitly remarked on his own anhedonia, saying, “I’m never happy” (DiMartino et al., 2008). Dysphoria appears in his insatiable need to find and subdue the Avatar, occupying every minute of his time. This in turn causes dysfunction, disrupting his relationships with the people around him and preventing him from focusing on anything besides his honor. Often, his behavior and thought processes place him in dangerous situations, risking his life over and over in attempts to capture the Avatar. Aside from Zuko’s connections with the 4 D’s of Abnormality, the DSM-V lists the disorder as a direct result of experiencing something traumatic; in the Agni Kai, he received substantial injuries along with a perceived threat of death (American Psychiatric Association,

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