Saying “posttraumatic stress disorder is not easy” is such an understatement to make. For people who are living with it, as well as people who are living with them, every day can be a challenge. The disorder can be caused by war, sexual violence, serious accidents, natural disasters, terrorist acts, and other incidents that can be caused for trauma. About 6 out of every 100 people will experience PTSD at some point in their lives. That is 6% of the population. In the United States alone, about 12 million adults can have PTSD during a given year.
PTSD has been written in media by plenty of authors. From the very first war novel in “All Quiet on the Western Front”, to explorations of life after the war in “The Shadows of Sawtooth Ridge”, and explorations of complex childhood PTSD in “Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine”, there is a bunch of works that try to depict the difficulties of having PTSD. Some have been hit and miss. With a lot of work surrounding the disorder, it is inevitable that some stereotypes appear in some of these stories. In fact, the shell-shocked veteran has become a stock character in literature. Shell shock in particular is what PTSD was called back in World War I
Writing PTSD
A character with a traumatic past that they need to move on from or accept in their life can often make for a great and compelling character arc. However, characters like that have now become dime a dozen. Only those depicted in the best way possible can be memorable to readers.
Since PTSD is a serious problem, it goes without saying that care must be practiced when writing characters affected by it. Although it is tempting to copy traits and tropes that popular media has depicted on the “experience” of PTSD, nothing still beats careful research.
Triggers and Reaction
Like most illnesses of the mind, PTSD is usually triggered by something related to the cause of the trauma. These triggers are not limited to something that needs to be seen. Smells and sounds can be triggers too. A character can become jumpy when hearing loud sounds often making them out to be from another source when in fact they are not. Distress can even come from distinct smells such as burning rubber, gunpowder, or perfumes.
Although it is tempting to tease your characters with these triggers, authors should make sure that characters will try their hardest in avoiding things that can provoke the trauma. People living with PTSD do not want to relive the traumatic experience. They do their best to avoid the risk of alienation. In fact, avoidance is one of the primary symptoms of PTSD.
If your character cannot avoid these triggers, make sure to show these effects to the readers. Physical symptoms can be easily depicted in writing. Symptoms such as trouble sleeping, trouble in concentration, irritability, and aggressive behavior, as well as suddenly always being on guard for danger are some of the best ways to show it.
The Trauma Dream
Saying “posttraumatic stress disorder is not easy” is an understatement. For people who are living with it and people who are living with them, every day can be a challenge. The disorder can be caused by war, sexual violence, serious accidents, natural disasters, terrorist acts, and other incidents that can cause trauma. About 6 out of every 100 people will experience PTSD at some point in their lives. That is 6% of the population. In the United States alone, about 12 million adults can have PTSD during a given year.
PTSD has been written about in the media by plenty of authors. From the very first war novel in “All Quiet on the Western Front” to explorations of life after the war in “The Shadows of Sawtooth Ridge” and explorations of complex childhood PTSD in “Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine,” there is a bunch of works that try to depict the difficulties of having PTSD. Some have been hit and miss. With a lot of work surrounding the disorder, it is inevitable that some stereotypes appear in some of these stories. In fact, the shell-shocked veteran has become a stock character in literature. Shell shock, in particular, is what PTSD was called back in World War I
Writing PTSD
A character with a traumatic past that they need to move on from or accept in their life can often make for a great and compelling character arc. However, characters like that have now become a dime a dozen. Only those depicted in the best way possible can be memorable to readers.
Since PTSD is a serious problem, it goes without saying that care must be practiced when writing characters affected by it. Although it is tempting to copy traits and tropes that popular media has depicted on the “experience” of PTSD, nothing still beats careful research.
Triggers and Reaction
Like most illnesses of the mind, PTSD is usually triggered by something related to the cause of the trauma. These triggers are not limited to something that needs to be seen. Smells and sounds can be triggers too. A character can become jumpy when hearing loud sounds, often making them out to be from another source when they are not. Distress can even come from distinct smells such as burning rubber, gunpowder, or perfumes.
Although it is tempting to tease your characters with these triggers, authors should ensure that characters try their hardest to avoid things that can provoke the trauma. People living with PTSD do not want to relive the traumatic experience. In fact, avoidance is one of the primary symptoms of PTSD.
If your character cannot avoid these triggers, make sure to show these effects to the readers. Physical symptoms can be easily depicted in writing. Symptoms such as trouble sleeping, trouble in concentration, irritability, aggressive behavior, and suddenly always being on guard for danger are some of the best ways to show it.
The Trauma Dream
Nightmares are one of the most common symptoms of PTSD. It is only natural that most, if not all, works involving PTSD have a scene where the character dreams of his past trauma. Not only does this communicate to the audience that the character is suffering trauma from his past, but it can also serve as the vehicle to inform the audience as to what that trauma is or what is causing it.
However, the trauma dream is also the part that most authors get wrong. More often than not, these dreams are an accurate depiction of the event that caused the trauma. That is not how dreams work.
For one, dreams are simply illogical. Nobody ever dreams of an accurate event. They often do not make sense. Instead, dreams are more informed by reality and usually revolve more around feelings. What does this mean?
Have you noticed that what you dream of is usually entirely related to something that you are currently obsessed with or something you were doing before falling asleep? This is especially evident when watching horror movies. The villains or monsters from those movies usually appear in your dreams.
When writing dreams, try to be most illogical on what is happening but logical as to why they are happening. Let go of the reality but keep the feelings.
Characters affected by PTSD can become some of the most compelling in the narrative. Their impact on the story could be sizable and memorable. If executed properly, it could make for a great character arc. Otherwise, it would be nothing but a caricature and an insult to the difficulties these people feel.
PTSD is no joke. Depicting it should not be either.
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