Psychological Disorder : John Rambo : First Blood

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a relatively new diagnosis that was associated with survivors of war when it was first introduced. Its diagnosis was met largely with skepticism and dismissal by the public of the validity of the illness. PTSD was only widely accepted when it was included as a diagnosis in 1980 in the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) of the American Psychiatric Association. PTSD is a complex mental disorder that develops in response to exposure to a severe traumatic event that stems a cluster of symptoms. Being afflicted with the disorder is debilitating, disrupting an individual’s ability to function and perform the most basic tasks.

Post-traumatic stress disorder abbreviated PTSD is a response to traumatic events in someone’s life. Traumatic events are events that provoke fear, helplessness or horror in response to a threat or extreme stressor (Yehuda, 2002). Soldiers and other military members are at a much higher risk to Post traumatic stress disorder due to combat and other stressful situations they are put into. People effected by Post-traumatic stress disorder will have symptoms including flashbacks, avoidance of things, people or places that remind them of the traumatic event. Also, hyper arousal which includes insomnia, irritability, impaired concentration and higher startle reactions. In this paper I will discuss post-traumatic stress disorder, its signs, symptom and effects on culture as portrayed in the movie, American Sniper.

“My mind is on fire as I fear that any second, another enemy round will rip into my body and finish me off” (Johnson 2). Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) effects the lives of many soldiers after returning home from war. PTSD is a psychiatric condition described in the DSM-IV as, a condition that requires a specific event to have occurred as a criterion for the diagnosis. The criteria for this disorder, according to the book Combat Trauma, can include flashbacks, times where you feel as if you are reliving the traumatic event, shame or guilt, upsetting dreams about the traumatic event, trying to avoid thinking or talking about the traumatic event, feeling emotionally numb or not feeling at all, anger or irritability, poor or destructive relationships, self-destructive behavior, trouble sleeping, memory problems, hallucinations, not enjoying activities you one enjoyed and feeling as if you no longer know who is living your day-to-day life.

There have been many diagnoses of PTSD in American soldiers. As Mark Thomas said in a magazine article, “The National Academy of Sciences have report estimated that up to 20% of 2.6 million US men and women who have served in Afghanistan and Iraq may have it (PTSD)”(Thomas). This quote expresses that nearly 520,000 US families have been affected by this disorder. It also shows that PTSD has become a large enough issue that more and more people and

The prevalence of PTSD is shown that women develop the disorder at a rate twice of that of men, despite other factors (Simmons, 2010). As stated in the National Comorbidity Survey, total lifetime prevalence of

Victor Monjaraz, a former Marine, says that he felt he could handle PTSD on his own, but his emotions did not allow him to. His wife had to convince him to visit a psychologist at the VA and see what the doctor had to say. Monjaraz already felt that he had PTSD before the visit. He was diagnosed with anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Monjaraz experienced night terrors and road rage. He was easily irritated and could not be in crowded spaces. The disease also took a toll on his marriage and says, “The Marines taught me to turn off my emotions but didn’t teach me how to turn them back on” (Monjaraz).

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or commonly known as PTSD, is a disorder caused by a traumatic experience like rape, abuse, war, etc. People who suffer from this disorder have trouble completing every-day tasks. PTSD is most common with soldiers and veterans. Billy Pilgrim, one of the main characters in Slaughter-House Five, is a soldier who is classified as a misfit. In this novel, Billy Pilgrim shows symptoms of PTSD through flashbacks, hallucinations, memory loss, and disruptive sleeping patterns. He goes through ridiculous adventures like traveling through time, being abducted by aliens, and being in a plane crash. It is important to know the signs of PTSD and how to help those who struggle with it.

The Clinician Administered PTSD Scale is a reliable structured interview for a professional to assess the patient. The clinician must ask about the frequency and intensity of each symptom measured on a scale of zero to four- zero being a no experience or rare and four being a frequent experience. This method of assessment conveys trauma from any part of the patient’s lifespan, usually assessed in chronological order (Blake,

" Explanations of PTSD focus primarily on the way that the mind is affected by traumatic experiences. Theorists speculate upon facing overwhelming trauma, the mind is unable to process information and feelings in a normal way. It is as if the thoughts

Before the 9/11 attacks, studies of the prevalence of PTSD in the United States demonstrated that 5 to 6 percent of men and 10 to 14 percent of women had had PTSD at some time in their lives, making it the fourth most common psychiatric disorder. Data from general population surveys in New York City after the 9/11 terrorist attacks indicated substantial PTSD symptoms. Galea and colleagues (2002) found that

The most widely used instruments for the assessment of symptoms related to PTSD have usually been self-reports, among which we find two types of assessment tools, interviews and questionnaires, inventories and scales. Additionally, today researchers have turned their attention to finding characteristic psychophysiological and neurobiological markers of patients with PTSD. The community-based studies reveal that the overall prevalence of PTSD ranges are between 1 and 14%, explaining this variability by the diagnostic criteria used and the type of population studied. (Norris, F., & Slone, L., 2013). In studies of individuals at risk (eg, war veterans, victims of volcanic eruptions or terrorist attacks) can be found prevalence rates ranging from 3 to 58%. It is estimated that amounts to 40 percent in very violent neighborhoods.

Since then, the diagnosis of PTSD has been pushed around in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, where it was initially believed to only last a short period of time. Later, it was included in “adjustment reaction to adult life” which was highly insufficient to summarize the disorder. After continuing research, it was noted that PTSD is a relatively common disorder with evidence showing that “4% of men and 10% of women will be diagnosed with [it] in their lifetime” (Friedman). Also, PTSD is no longer categorized as an anxiety

This experience was not as bad as what people who are really diagnosed with PTSD go through. I cannot even imagine having PTSD. I absolutely loved “The Lion King”. That is one movie that I will never get tired of watching. Honestly, before this assignment, I did not know that Simba was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

The PCL-5 is a 20-item self-report measure that takes approximately 5-10 minutes to complete and assesses the 20 DSM-5 symptoms of PTSD (Weathers et al., 2014). Examples of the survey question include (a) “Feeling very upset when something reminded you of the stressful experience” (b) “Having strong negative beliefs about yourself, other people, or the world” and (c) “Feeling distant or cut off from other people” (Weathers et al., 2014). The symptoms are rated from 0-4 and are identified as “Not at all,” “A little bit,” “Moderately,” “Quite a bit,” and “Extremely” (Weathers et al., 2014). According to the publishers, the affiliated staff members of the National Center of PTSD, the PCL-5 is scored in several ways (Weathers et al., 2014). The choice for this proposed research study is to use the total score from each of the 20 items by obtaining a composite mean symptom severity score interpretable on the 0-4

Described as ‘a watershed film on the contemporary genre’, The Hurt Locker (2008) by Kathryn Bigelow portrays the addiction to combat some soldiers feel. The film is set during the Iraq war and follows the story of a sergeant who becomes assigned to an army bomb squad. (More about plot) Acting as an exception to the current trends in the genre, in which war films are focused much more around suicide, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and the dark side of the war, The Hurt Locker provides an exciting and positive view of war. James, the main character, is ‘the living embodiment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder’ however the film treats him as if he does not have the disorder at all.