Post Traumatic Stress Disorder In The Things They Carried

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Unknown Enemy War is no child 's play, but unfortunately, we have had times in our past when the youth of our great nation had to defend it. Combat is not an easy for anyone; watching death, the constant ring of gunfire, the homesickness, fearing for your life, and witnessing bloodshed daily, this will begin to take its toll. The minds threshold for brutality can only handle so much and eventually will become sickened by these events. This sickness is called Post-traumatic stress disorder. As shown through the characters of The Things They Carried, soldiers of war may begin to show PTSD symptoms before the war is over, and may continue to fight the disorder after the war has ended. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is something many …show more content…

Similarly, to many other veterans, O 'Brien has a difficult time going into everyday life, everyone is curious about his experiences, his life and what happened while he is away and he just doesn 't want to talk about it. "In ordinary conversation I never spoke much about the war, but certainly not in detail" (O 'Brien 157). O 'Brien didn 't know how to express his feelings. He did not want to bring people into the side of him he tried to shut out. Similarly, to Jensen, O 'Brien didn 't know how to talk about what was plaguing him. Although the people may not have understood where he was coming from, they care about him and would want the best for him although he knew they would never they would never be able to understand the full extent of what has happened while they were …show more content…

Those who struggle with the disorder has been left with an impaired state of life. Known for causing social, occupational, and physically debilitating symptoms, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder causes life long problems. "I survived, but it 's not a happy ending"(O 'Brien 61) .Those who are diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder have to come to terms with their experiences, they have to learn to understand what happened and forgive themselves for it. Even after acceptance of their situation, triggers can cause a relapse into the depression or anxiety related to PTSD can occur. Triggers, something that sets off an attack, can be anything from a load noise to a someone rubbing you the wrong way. In O 'Brien 's case, a load noise may cause him to flash back to throwing the grenade. While someone aggressively talking to Jensen could cause him to be insecure with his surroundings and become fearful sending him into a

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