This paper displays the research that contributed to my diagnosis of Arnold from the short story “The Stone Boy” by Gina Berriault. I diagnosed him with PTSD based on the evidence in the story and research shown below.
Posttraumatic stress disorder among children is not common. A child develops the disorder from life altering traumatic events. Children with posttraumatic stress disorder suffer from multiple varying symptoms. The death of a loved one to children may spark irregular behavior that align with symptoms of PTSD. Grief can take many forms, complicated grief is one of them. Complicated grief may be interpreted as a development of PTSD however, the two vary greatly. Complicated grief is its own condition and can be recognized as complicated traumatic grief. The articles Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Symptoms and Causes, Exploring the Roles of Emotional Numbing, Depression and Dissociation in PTSD, and Complicated Grief In Children- The Perspective of Experience Professionals help educate on the differences and effects of both posttraumatic stress disorder and complicated grief in children.
Post traumatic stress disorder is caused by experiencing a traumatic event however, not all who experience traumatic events develop the disorder. Factors can affect the likelihood of developing PTSD, “how close the child was to the trauma itself (was she physically affected? Did she witness the trauma while it was happening, or encounter the aftermath?)”(Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Symptoms and Causes). Symptoms can vary based on the thought process behind the one experiencing it, “If your child is suffering from PTSD, she is most likely working through extreme emotional, mental and physical distress.”(Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Symptoms and Causes). To provide reasoning behind the symptoms displayed in children helps to better understand their behavior. Symptoms of posttraumatic disorder can vary greatly from “feeling jittery, “on edge or ‘on guard’ ” to the lack of emotion at all, “feeling or acting ‘numb’ “ (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Symptoms and Causes). The wide range of symptoms displayed in the article show readers that there is more that one way posttraumatic distress order affects children. There is a vast majority of causes and symptoms from the development of PTSD. This article educates readers on how to identify post traumatic stress disorder in children through the events they face and their behavior.
Posttraumatic stress disorder can be shown through varying symptoms, one being numbness. The article Exploring the Roles of Emotional Numbing, Depression and Dissociation in PTSD, taken from a journal of traumatic stress,goes into depth of how emotional numbing, depression, and dissociation correlate to PTSD. Studies are included in the article testing what certain variables cause an overlap with one disorder to PTSD. Avoidance and numbing may seem to correlate however, happen for different reasons, avoidance is more intentional, “… involves strategic, effortful processes” (490) whereas numbing is more of a reaction, “…involves automatic processes resulting from continuous hyper- arousal”(page 490) . It is important to understand the reason behind different reactions to better understand someone.There were correlations found between different motivators ”… emotional numbing is a distinct construct, after accounting for depression and dissociation, initial emotional numbing remained associated with PTSD severity” (page 495) which helps identify motivators behind PTSD. Post traumatic stress disorder may initially come from one event however, there are many emotions and conditions that can motivate and affect the disorder.
Posttraumatic stress disorder has varying symptoms and the same can be shown in children with complicated grief. The article Complicated Grief In Children- The Perspective of Experience Professionals educates on the differences between experiencing posttraumatic stress disorder, normal grief and complicated grief. Posttraumatic stress disorder may have symptoms that appear in complicated traumatic grief however, those who experience CTG do not always develop PTSD. Grief has to deal with coping with the death of a loved one which runs a different course than PTSD. Normal grief can be seen as more productive than complicated grief. Complicated grief leaves one to a state where there is no “ turning point.”(page 296) When differentiating normal grief and complicated grief, the main factor is how much it interferes with one’s daily lives ,” …the differentiating factor is that the individual is unable to integrate the death into their life and is not able to move on”.(page 269) Age plays a vital role on the effects of complicated grief faced. Children aged preschool to school aged show symptoms such as exaggerated fears and persistent regression (page 297). Whereas older children aged preadolescents and adolescents face symptoms such as risk behaviors and inability to set goals (page 297). Age plays a strong role into the symptoms shown among children. For children to be properly diagnosed their development needs to be in mind, “The most men- tioned aspect was that the criteria should be related to a child’s development (i.e., that there should be age appropriate criteria).”(page 299). Children are still growing and may need extra attention to detail during a diagnosis.. Vital information such as age. Their outlook on life, and their long term development means close analyses for accurate diagnosis.
The article Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Symptoms and Causes is a medical article which educates readers on the causes, symptoms and facts surrounding posttraumatic stress disorder, including its effects on children.The article educates readers on how to identify post traumatic stress disorder in children through the events they face and their behavior. Exploring the Roles of Emotional Numbing, Depression and Dissociation in PTSD provides results and data from research specifically targeting the correlations of different disorders on posttraumatic stress disorder, which helps connect different emotions behind posttraumatic stress disorder. The article Complicated Grief In Children- The Perspective of Experience Professionals stretches the importance of individualizing the child in question to get a proper diagnosis.
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