Essay On Traumatic Events

With the recent release of the popular movie and book American Sniper, much attention has been drawn to the effects of the disease of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder on its victims. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, a mental illness from going through a traumatic experience, is more prevalent in veterans and men currently serving in the military, and it is important that effective treatment be sought.

The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon hosted by several cities in Greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts. It is always held on Patriot’s Day, the third Monday in April. Begun in 1897, the Boston Marathon is the world’s oldest annual marathons and ranks as the world’s best-known road-racing events (“Boston Bombing,” n.d.). But on April 15, 2013, the marathon made history for something else. At approximately 2:49 EST, two pressure cooker bombs struck near the finish line of the marathon, leaving three dead and one hundred and forty one injured. Among the injured, twelve were reported in critical condition. The victims, who were treated in eight different hospitals, were as young as two (Lev, 2013).

The time came for her to be delivered. She gave birth to her first born son, wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in the manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. These were the words that I had spoken during a church Christmas play while I was just about to see the light at the end of my elementary school career. As I looked out into the faces of my family, I realized that I was making someone proud. I too was proud to have such a caring family whom I thought would be my strength throughout my life. Life has been so good to me thus far with wonderful parents, an older sister to whom I worshiped, and an older brother to keep me in tune with the magnificent

Regardless of how a child acts towards their parents, all that matters in the end is their unconditional love for them. However, the time it takes for them to express their gratitude will depend on each child. In the novel The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri demonstrates this, describing the life of a young boy named Gogol and his continually progressing relationship with his mother. It demonstrates that a child is unable to view his or her parents as a human being until the parent figure experiences a traumatic event that allows the child to empathize with their parents.

Loss of home, loved ones, independence, identity, and a sense that the world is no longer safe are all central to the experience of a disaster such as the 2009 Victorian ‘Black Saturday’ bushfires. Most people will suffer a degree of distress in the short-term and only some will have more chronic long-term conditions such as PTSD and the impact of trauma can be felt by those not directly affected. The social workers at the community centre providing counselling services for those affected can use the information and research gathered here to focus on recovery that is holistic to enable affected communities to return back to a ‘normative’ society. Some of the key knowledge garnered from the literature

The term “Psychological trauma” refers to damage wrought from a traumatic event, which that damages one’s ability to cope with stressors. “Trauma” is commonly defined as an exposure to a situation in which a person is confronted with an event that involves actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to self or others’ physical well-being (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Specific types of client trauma frequently encountered by which therapists and other mental health workers frequently encounter in a clinical setting include sexual abuse, physical , or sexual assault, natural disasters such as earthquakes or tsunamis, domestic violence, and school or/and work related violence (James & Gilliland, 2001). Traumatic

The unfortunate event that took place on April 19, 1995 was a day that would change history throughout the nation in an unimaginable way due to the tragic circumstances that unfortunately unfolded. The Oklahoma City Bombing impacted the United States greatly because something of such devastation had never before occurred in this way up until that point in American history. This in fact would be an event that no one anticipated, no one knew anything of, but it would certainly be an eye opening day and a call for change.

Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.”(Bailey, Eileen) While this is often the case, certain tragedies are simply too overwhelming for the body and mind to recover from. Instead of making one stronger, some things leave the human body weakened both emotionally and physically. When faced with gargantuan amounts of stress, some people have mental or emotional breakdowns resulting in post-traumatic stress disorder.

In 1995, it all started as a peaceful Wednesday morning. People were starting work or just waking up in Oklahoma City. While all these peoples’ days were starting, a young male parked a yellow truck outside of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. That day, everyone's’ life in that building changed forever. The effects of the April 19,1995 bombing were more than just physical to the survivors of this horrific event.

I learned quite a bit about the psychological impact of the Boston Marathon Bombing. After researching the effects, I realized how much trauma these innocent people went through during a moment that was supposed to be joyous. People that were healthy and filled with life were either severely injured or had there life taken away by a senseless act. Some of the injured victims will never be able to walk again, others, never able to see their loved ones again. Martin Richard, an 8-year old boy whose life was taken during the attack, will never get to see his family one more time. The amount of grief the Tsarnev brothers caused can never be taken back and it has left a psychological effect on the viewers and the victims – runners, adults and children.

Post-Traumatic Stress disorder, commonly referred to as PTSD, is defined as a disorder that occurs after an extremely shocking, scary, or dangerous event. In the novel Tribe, by Sebastian Junger, this is one of the prominent topics that Junger exemplifies to portray a community. Junger’s overlying topic of the book was the sense of belonging and many of his claims refer to a community. Specifically, he mentions soldiers with PTSD and their ability to function within a community after returning home after the war. Most soldiers cannot live their lives the same way as they were able to before the war, and many often do not get enough help from others despite their willingness to sacrifice their lives for their country. This leads to many

Allen wrote a story of a firefighter who had post-traumatic stress disorder, and the event that occurred. In addition, Allen goes on describing a peer support group that will help firefighters with this disorder. Having a support group especially made up of firefighters, gives each other a way to relate because all the supporters understand what they deal with each day. If firefighters work together, along with using therapy treatments from professionals the fire service can reduce the amount of PTSD and suicide

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects 7.7 million American adults and can also occur during childhood. PTSD is an anxiety disorder that stems from a recent emotional threat such as a natural, disaster, war, and car accidents. PTSD usually occurs from an injury or coming close death. A person who has experienced a past traumatic event has a heightened chance of being diagnosed with PTSD after a current trauma. PTSD can also be determined by looking at one’s genes, different emotions, and current or past family setting. Normally, when a person without PTSD goes through a traumatic event the body releases stress hormones, which in time returns back to normal; However, a person with PTSD releases stress hormones that do not return

In Judith Herman’s book, Trauma and Recovery, she discusses her research and work with trauma survivors. In her book, she writes that, “traumatic events are extraordinary, not because they occur rarely, but rather because they overwhelm the ordinary human adaptations to life” (Herman 24). She explores the idea that trauma is as individual as it is common, with reactions and the journey to the post-traumatic self similar despite differences in events. In the case of Barbara Gordon, while the event may vary, her physical and mental trauma can be compared to America’s fear of its forfeiture of power to terror and the loss of the towers after September 11, 2001. Trauma is about more than just the physical ramifications; when the physical aspect is fixed, Barbara’s legs and the building of the 1 World Trade Center, the mental and emotional trauma still remain.

“Four days later, after an intense manhunt that shut down the Boston area, police captured one of the bombing suspects, whose older brother and fellow suspect, died following a shootout with law enforcement earlier that same day”( History). Boston’s response to the marathon bombings – which saved lives, maintained order, eventually captured the lone surviving suspect, and brought a community together to heal, all in less than a week was what truly made the city “strong.”