Analysis Of Pat Barker 's ' Night '

This paper explores post-traumatic stress and how it is seen as a disorder. Post-traumatic stress can manifest into post-traumatic stress disorder. The evaluation and review books and articles seem to reveal a relation to these symptoms and military member, either active or non-active veterans. These symptoms do not manifest strictly into the full-extent of the disorder in all cases of military, however, things such as depression and other physical symptoms are discussed through the readings. The end result is that we discovered that through the readings PTSD will in fact lead to suicide if left untreated.

It is common knowledge that with every war, there always comes casualties. Soldiers can lose an arm or a leg, or even their life when they go to war. Unfortunately soldiers can even lose their minds because of war. Specifically, this research paper will focus on PTSD, or in other words: post traumatic stress disorder. PTSD has shown up as a factor from many wars, but for some reason, one war in particular stands out from all others regarding the the PTSD numbers. It is called the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War (1956-1975) was part of the cold war. The US wanted to prevent Vietnam from becoming a communist country, so after Vietnam split into a north and south, they began to support South Vietnam. The US thought that if Vietnam were to

World War II is still seen today as one of the most lethal wars in history. As technology advanced, more destructive weapons were created. In the hands of the wrong people and those forced to use them, these weapons paved the way for physical and psychological destruction. Furthermore, the mentality of individuals during this time enabled more marring upon themselves and upon other individuals. Even though what we now refer to as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, existed before World War II, this time period brought about a higher prevalence of PTSD, as well as began to change the way this disorder was perceived by people.

Some effects of PTSD include memory loss and loss of sleep. Steinbeck uses imagery to reveal what the soldier’s experience was like. He quotes, “sleep can come without warning and like a drug… All the main nerve trunks are deadened, and out of the battered cortex curious dreamlike thoughts emerge.” (19) This is important as it explains the soldiers fight till they are physically shut down. Sleep is unpredictable for them as they are always up looking for danger. Also he states, “The anesthesia your body has given you to protect you is beginning to wear off,and, as with most anesthesia, it is a little painful”. (19) The "anesthesia" symbolizes sleep that overcomes the soldier. Steinbeck relates this as almost like a body breaking down. The narrator describes “the outlines in your memory are vague. The next day the memory slips farther, until very little is left at all.”(19) It explains that soldiers have the inability to recount certain experiences and events.The issue of PTSD still occurs to contemporary event and it affects many people. A way PTSD is relevant today is shown in Sebastian Junger’s HOW PTSD BECAME A PROBLEM FAR BEYOND THE BATTLEFIELD. Their whole body is battered by emotions, physical trauma, and confusion. Junger address from the “Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology”, which found “lack of support” is great factor why they experience it. Thus, vets are alienated from

The soldiers that fought for or are fighting for our country are some of the bravest men and women that there have ever been. These men and women put their lives on the line as well as their own mental health for fighting for the people of the United States. The most common mental disorder that Americans hear about veterans having is PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. In Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, Louise Erdrich’s “The Red Convertible,” and “Midnight Movie” by Mike Subritzky, the characters all show signs of PTSD. The Vietnam War is a large part of America’s history and therefore is one of the greatest examples of the effects of war, such as PTSD, on a soldier.

Perhaps attesting to the enhanced understanding of PTSD and alarm at the troubling suicide rates of veterans, the media seems to be raising the public’s attention about the condition, for example, through the use of documentaries. In 2005, during the second push of the Iraqi and Afghanistan war PBS FRONTLINE released a documentary entitled, “The Soldier’s Heart,” This documentary gives an overview of the history of PTSD, but focuses specifically on the psychological toll of the Iraq war. It illuminates the fact that despite advances in our understanding of PTSD, there continues to be a stigma against psychological problems in the

An American machine gunner, Charles Yale Harrison, says in his novel, Generals Die in Bed: “[War] take[s] everything from us: our lives, our blood, our hearts; even the few lousy hours of rest, they take those, too. Our job is to give, and theirs is to take,” (Harrison, 26). In this example, Harrison explains how war is the most selfish and strongest of all evils; war continues to take everything someone has until they have nothing left to take. The war also created long-term effects for soldiers; one being shell-shock. This term is used to describe the damage of constant loud shelling during war which greatly affected those who were not exposed to shelling frequently (Unnamed). Another term that is still used today is PTSD, (“Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder”), which is used to describe the effect war had on the soldiers afterward (Unnamed). World War I brought major psychological disorders upon the soldiers during and after the war had ended leading to great damage for the rest of the victim’s

It was not until the 1980’s that the diagnosis of PTSD as we know it today came to be. However, throughout history people have recognized that exposure to combat situations can have profound negative impact on the mind s and bodies of individuals in these situations. But there are other catastrophic events that can have such profound impact on people resulting in PTSD…

The tactics used in World War I were radically different than that of previous wars. The majority of the war was fought in the trenches, and the war itself seemed to have no end. Due to this, the psychological impact of the war was unlike anything that had been seen before. During the early days of the war, the soldiers, on both sides, seemed to lack the dedication that would have been necessary to exterminate their enemy. However, as the war progressed, the desire to avenge their fallen comrades overcame their ethics and they began to kill their enemy indiscriminately. Surviving soldiers experienced a phenomenon that was, at that time, referred to as shell shock. Today we refer to this phenomenon as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. At this time, this psychological condition was misunderstood and the doctors lacked the training necessary to effectively treat this condition.

The psychologists discovered this perilous disorder by examining the survivors of combat stress post the war. Although the discovery of PTSD is recent, the history dates back to around 1600. One of the early and unbelievably accurate descriptions of PTSD was given by William Shakespeare in his play Henry IV, Part 1(act 2, scene 3, lines 40–62) and it was around 1597. The history of PTSD has always been linked to the history of wars especially World War I. Another such striking, autobiographical account of PTSD was given by a recuperating British lieutenant in England after being trapped in enemy lines. The autobiographical account was given in the book war neuroses and shell shock written by Frederick Mott 1919 . The British lieutenant spent 5 days in the village and the physical and the mental challenges that he faced in those 5 days had conquered his mind. He still hasn’t recovered in the present context. This historical perspective shows that the concept of PTSD was rather discovered and not

Every veteran of war you see went through something that changed them, either from their own experience or from their “brother’s” and in the book The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien it shows exactly what I’m talking about. While using the psychological lens, specifically, Maslow’s Hierarchical Theory of Human Needs and Holmes-Rahe Stress Scale, the reader can see in chapters “On The Rainy River,” “The Man I Killed,” and “Field Trip” that Tim O’Brien is emotionally unstable due experiencing the trauma of war.

In both “Speaking of Courage” and “Notes” I notice that with war, brings avoidance. That avoidance is the idea in which we don’t want to talk about how a soldier, no but a man can be effected by the aftermath of war. I believe that post- traumatic is not only a mental disorder but a physical disorder because as the mind is taken over, the body follows. Some people think that post- traumatic disorder is something that one does not have to stress about but infact there is alot they should be stressing about. In definition PTSD is a mental health condition triggered by experiencing or seeing a terrifying event.

Military Pathway (2013) concluded “Military life, especially the stress of deployments or mobilizations, can present challenges to service members and their families that are both unique and difficult”. Hence, it is not surprising that soldiers returning from a stressful war environment often suffer from a psychological condition called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. This paper provides a historical perspective of PTSD affecting soldiers, and how this illness has often been ignored. In addition, the this paper examines the cause and diagnosis of the illness, the changes of functional strengths and limitations, the overall effects this disease may have on soldiers and their families, with a conclusion of

For this paper I will be comparing the psychological effects of war between the film Saving Private Ryan and the book “All Quiet on the Western Front.” In the movie Saving Private Ryan, a battalion led by Caption Miller is ordered to reach a man named Private James Ryan, whose brothers had been killed in action (KIA) and has been requested to return back to the states. Along the way to reach their objective, the group of soldiers run into many obstacles from the enemy and between themselves. “All Quiet on the Western Front” tells a story of a German soldier fighting on the front lines, between trench life and the barrage of mortar shells. Paul describes how the war completely changed him mentally and ruined him for the rest of his life.

For this piece, we danced to "All Through the Night" by Sleeping At Last. Both the choreography and the lyrics of the song coincide to portray the difficulties of connecting deeply with someone. In the song, the soft tone indicates an intensity of feeling and a sense of seriousness. The generally slow and deliberate movements of the piece also indicate that same feeling of intensity and thoughtfulness. When dancing and listening to the lyrics of the song I got the impression that one person was sacrificing themselves for the sake of another person. In the piece, there are some movements where we collapse, cave in on ourselves and fall down. Perhaps, these movements demonstrate a message of hopelessness and a lost sense of direction. However