An Analysis of Post-Traumatic Evidence within: The December Man Within Colleen Murphy’s December Man, the main character Jean displays significant impairment in both his behaviour, as well as his social, and perceptions, due to what occurred in the shooting. These are distinctive features of post-traumatic stress disorder, a crippling disease caused by the experience of a violent or disturbing event that strickens his character significantly. Jean struggles to cope with both the stresses and anxieties of having to relive the past, by not being able to being riddled with memories of the shooting in his day-to-day life, and it is in the way where his anguish will be shown. His illness will be shown through his abrupt lack of interest in his …show more content…
Jean not being able to regain control of his actions, displays a large amount of anger towards not only the shooter, but towards himself for not having done more.
Being riddled with a tremendous amount of guilt, Jean succumbs to the emotions by slowly showing a lack of interest in both his extracurricular activity, as well as his academic career. The many ways that Jean’s social life diminishes because of him feeling remorseful, is that firstly, Jean begins to lose interest in Karate, which for him was an outlet for his repressed feelings. By gradually not focusing on what was once his favorite activity, it shows definite signs of post-traumatic stress establishing that he does suffer with it. Within the text “Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of Post-Traumatic Stress” which was issued by the Department of both Veteran Affairs and Defense, explains that people who suffer from acute post-trauma may exhibit “Persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma through markedly diminished interest, or participation in significant activities” (79). This shows that Jean’s apparent post-traumatic stress hinders him from fully participating in the extracurricular
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It is through this reliving of those memories that Jean wants to relive the event so that he may have the chance to do it over again in an attempt to save more lives. The anxiety that comes with this disorder is that victims are faced with the harsh reality of having to deal with their emotions and recollections of the experiences, this is mentioned within Sarah Jaffe’s descriptions of the illness when she describes that the person may be stricken with “Persistent re-experiencing of the event through thoughts or perceptions, images, dreams, illusions, hallucinations, dissociative flashback of episodes, and/or intense psychological distress” (Jaffe 1). Jaffe describes the symptoms that correspond to the disorder, and also justifies Jean’s dream within the play. Jean being stricken with his guilty conscious has the fantasy of him being a super-hero character within the dream saving the woman and stopping the shooter. He emphasizes how much of a coward he felt for not having prevented the shooting, through comparing himself to an insignificant mouse who fled as is mentioned, “I was a
Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition, similar to an anxiety disorder, that is triggered by trauma and other extremely stressful circumstances. Throughout the book, Junger talks about PTSD in a wide range:from PTSD rates in natural disaster victims to PTSD rates in veterans. The latter is explained on a deeper perspective. While Junger gave many examples of why PTSD rates in America were so high, the most captivating was:
“We Kill Ourselves Because We Are Haunted” is a non-fiction essay by Jennifer Percy; in which Percy meet veterans or soldiers and their family who are suffering from PTSD, due to some accident that happened to the veterans or soldiers. In the article Percy, discuss various incidence of different people who are trapped in the circle of PTSD. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a problem related to mental health. In this a person come across flashbacks, nightmares, uncontrollable thought that are not easily recoverable. PTSD may happen when a person comes across a terrifying situation that happened to themselves or someone close to them.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is not something to think lightly of, and affects several people in society, not just soldiers. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, is best known as a mental health condition that many soldiers experience after the war, but it’s a problem that stretches far beyond the military. PTSD affects 5%-10% of all men and 7%-14% of all women in this country(Charles, PTSD). In Chris Kyle’s autobiography American Sniper he touches on many subjects involving PTSD, and talks about the challenge of being a good father, husband, and soldier while stationed overseas. In American Sniper Chris Kyle is a very talented long ranged sniper for the United States Navy Seals, during his tour in Iraq, Chris tallies up several kills.
Boone, Katherine. "The Paradox of PTSD." Wilson Quarterly. 35.4 (2011): 18-22. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.
Guilt is an important source of “post traumatic stress symptoms “ this come from the simple attack on soldier’s or being tortured as the enemies prisoner (Henning and Frueh 1).Guilt plays a vital role in the soldier’s
The article under review is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in the DSM-5: Controversy, Change, and Conceptual Considerations by Anushka Pai, Alina M. Suris, and Carol S. North in Behavioral Sciences. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health problem that some people develop after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening event, like combat, a natural disaster, a car accident, or sexual assault (U.S. Department VA, 2007). PTSD can happen to anyone and many factors can increase the possibility of developing PTSD that are not under the person’s own control. Symptoms of PTSD usually will start soon after the traumatic event but may not appear for months or years later. There are four types of symptoms of PTSD but may show in different
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is defined by our book, Abnormal Psychology, as “an extreme response to a severe stressor, including increased anxiety, avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma, and symptoms of increased arousal.” In the diagnosis of PTSD, a person must have experienced an serious trauma; including “actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violation.” In the DSM-5, symptoms for PTSD are grouped in four categories. First being intrusively reexperiencing the traumatic event. The person may have recurring memories of the event and may be intensely upset by reminders of the event. Secondly, avoidance of stimuli associated with the event, either internally or externally. Third, signs of mood and cognitive change after the trauma. This includes blaming the self or others for the event and feeling detached from others. The last category is symptoms of increased arousal and reactivity. The person may experience self-destructive behavior and sleep disturbance. The person must have 1 symptom from the first category, 1 from the second, at least 2 from the third, and at least 2 from the fourth. The symptoms began or worsened after the trauma(s) and continued for at least one
“The months pass by. The summer of 1918 is the most bloody and most terrible. The days stand like angels in blue and gold, incomprehensible, above the ring of annihilation.” (Remarque 230). This quote is an example of an event that a soldier would probably re-play in their mind causing Post -traumatic stress disorder. PTSD is a disorder caused by experiencing a traumatic or very stressful experience, such as war. This can cause emotional problems for people like Paul and his friends in All Quiet on the Western Front.
Her tense mind is then further pushed towards insanity by her husband, John. As one of the few characters in the story, John plays a pivotal role in the regression of the narrator’s mind. Again, the narrator uses the wallpaper to convey her emotions. Just as the shapes in the wallpaper become clearer to the narrator, in her mind, she is having the epiphany that John is in control of her.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, commonly known as PTSD, affects many individuals throughout the world. PTSD is a mental health disorder that is brought on by experiencing a traumatizing event. People experience PTSD in many different ways and some of these people, like Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye, have difficulty getting through their daily activities and can experience depression and loneliness which may require treatment. Referencing websites for the Mayo Clinic, Department of Veteran Affairs, National Institute of Mental Health and the novel Catcher in the Rye one can see that suffering from PTSD can change someone’s life forever.
The struggle to battle with the persistent grief of self-blame and lack of identity is a constant reminder to the barriers in relationships. Leroy grieves over the fact that he has lost his identity as a father and husband. Although he often thinks of Randy, the memories of him have faded. As a result, he latches on to Norma Jean but she doesn’t respond back. This causes him to feel like a failure of a husband. Norma Jean is grieving over the emptiness in her life. It was not the life she thought she would have. Her deceased son symbolizes her emptiness because of his death. She also feels emptiness towards her husband. For example, she feels very uncomfortable around him and always tries to find something for him to do. When Leroy arrives back home from his accident Mason implies, “he thinks she’s seems a little disappointed” (Mason 220), displaying Norma Jean frustrated with his lying around doing nothing but watching television and smoking pot. In addition, Norma Jean feels emptiness towards her mother, which is presented in the way her mother criticizes her. When tragedies occur in a family and self-confidence fades it can take over your life a...
She continues in this sequel to talk about the abuse she faced and the dysfunction that surrounded her life as a child and as a teen, and the ‘empty space’ in which she lived in as a result. She talks about the multiple personalities she was exhibiting, the rebellious “Willie” and the kind “Carol”; as well as hearing noises and her sensory problems. In this book, the author puts more emphasis on the “consciousness” and “awareness” and how important that was for her therapeutic process. She could not just be on “auto-pilot” and act normal; the road to recovery was filled with self-awareness and the need to process all the pieces of the puzzle—often with the guidance and assistance of her therapist. She had a need to analyze the abstract concept of emotions as well as feelings and thoughts. Connecting with others who go through what she did was also integral to her
Jean is a wife of a powerful man. Based on her husband word and actions, image and work are his primary concerns. In the beginning, Jean say that " Rick spent dinner on his phone most of the night and not showing Jean an attention." He Mentions that he thinks Jean is jealous of Karen, who works closely with Rick. Later, while Jean is extremely emotional and upset because rick doesn't take her seriously and shuffles her off to bed so he can work on his image and how voters will respond to the robbery. Moreover, this shows that Jean does not have any responsibilities or any true friends throughout the film. The character of Jean Cabot allowed her past to interfere with her life during the whole movie. For example, when Jean and her husband Rick SUV was stolen by two black men with guns; Jean wouldn't let it go she always had something to say about it. Jean was the type of character that try to make others feel how she feel and also try to make others characters feel sorry for her. Most of Jean's fear would come from her personal problems. However, Jean's blind fear, anger and her emotions are a result of how alone she feels. For the most part Jean does not even exhibit interpersonal immediacy with others. Therefore, Jeans perception with herself is consistent with the way others see her
Schiraldi, G. R. (2009). The post-traumatic stress disorder sourcebook: A guide to healing, recovery, and growth. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
This case study explores how a sudden life change affects certain behaviors and psychological changes in an individual. In the film, “John Q.”, the main character, John Q. Archibald, who is played by Denzel Washington, experiences a sudden life change when his son, Michael Archibald, is suddenly diagnosed with cardiomegaly. Cardiomegaly is an abnormal enlargement of the heart and requires a heart transplant for long term survival. In the beginning of the movie, John Q. Archibald’s wife’s car was repossessed due to non-payment, his hours were reduced at work, and he could not find a second job to support his family.