Thousands and thousands of the countries most loyal men and women who have put their lives in danger to keep our country safe, suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD is caused by a life threatening event which is too painful to handle. In the short story, “Soldier’s home” Krebs, the protagonist, suffers from PTSD. From the information given, I believe he will recover emotionally, spiritually, mentally. There are many symptoms to PTSD, but one in particular is emotional withdrawal and avoidance. Thomas J. Brennan, a sergeant in the US Marine Corps who deal with PTSD, discusses his personal experiences dealing with this condition: “I went through the motions. Hugs and kisses felt hollow. Smiles ha no feelings, tears bore no sadness. I had become so …show more content…
Although, once he receives therapy he will learn how to love again. His emotional recovery will be very similar to his spiritual recovery instead of finding love, he will be searching for God. Krebs is currently very distant from God, when he is in the kitchen with his mom during breakfast, his mom asked him to pray with her: “‘Now, you pray, Harold,’ she said. ‘I can’t,’ Krebs said. ‘Try, Harold.’ ‘I can’t’ ‘Do want me to pray for you?’ ‘Yes’’’ (Hemingway 6). It will take Krebs time to find faith, but with the correct guidance and support from his mom and others he will get there. He is already on the right path he is accepting prayers and watching what people do around him. He is surrounded by his family who will help him get through these times. They will also help him heal mentally. Krebs is in a state mind in which he doesn’t work and he doesn’t want to work to get a girl. When he was in town one night he sees some girls and the narrator explains, “Vaguely he wanted a girl but he didn’t want to have to work to get her. He would have liked to have a girl but he didn’t want to spend a long time getting her” (Hemingway
The couple, Mel states, was driving down the interstate when an intoxicated nineteen-year-old “plowed his dad’s pickup truck” into the couple’s camper (146). Though the driver was pronounced dead on arrival, the couple survived. They were, however, in critical condition. During their recovery, Mel states, the man was depressed: even after learning that his wife was safe. The reason being that, “…he [the man] couldn’t see [his wife] through his eye –holes…his heart was breaking because he couldn’t turn his goddamn head and see his goddamn wife”, an idea that would, by popular accounts, define the real nature of true love: of the two becoming one (151). Despite his self-proclaimed knowledge on the topic of love, Mel cannot fathom the thought of two people having such a level of affection for one another that the reality of not being able to see one another interferes with their ability to heal. As a cardiologist, it is Mel’s job to fix broken hearts. It is the one area where he feels he can relate to the heart. Yet with this couple, though he could physically mend the man’s broken heart, Mel cannot mend the man’s heartache. This leaves Mel feeling confused and
One in five veterans from Afghanistan and Iraqi wars have been diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition triggered by a terrifying event and mostly effects military veterans. The book Lone Survivor, written by Marcus Luttrell, is an eye witness account of the 2005 operation Red Wing that tells the harrowing story of SEAL Team 10. Throughout the book, Marcus hears voices in his head of his fallen teammates. Even today, Marcus wakes up in the middle of the night because of the terrible nightmares, which are symptoms of PTSD. There are a lot of ways to combat PTSD so our troops do not have to endure this hardship. Some of the ways to combat the disorder is to understand PTSD, detect it early, having family support and preventing it.
Hemingway deals with the effects of war on the male desire for women in many of his novels and short stories, notably in his novel, The Sun Also Rises. In this novel, the main character Jake, is impotent because of an injury received in World War I. Jakes situation is reminiscent of our main character Krebs. Both characters have been damaged by World War I; the only difference is Jake’s issue is physical, while Krebs issue is mental. Krebs inwardly cannot handle female companionship. Although Krebs still enjoys watching girls from his porch and he “vaguely wanted a girl but did not want to have to work to get her” (167). Krebs found courting “not worth it” (168). The girls symbolize what World War I stripped from our main character, a desire that is natural for men, the desire for women.
Nations may pay for the war, but soldiers pay the ultimate price, their lives. A soldier has to be willing to lose everything to gain freedom for others. Therefore a war is not fought by two nations, but rather than the millions of soldiers. With this comes great sacrifice and selflessness. In the book The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien three soldiers that stand to lose the most are Kiowa, Norman Bowker, and Jimmy Cross.
A Vietnam War veteran experienced many gruesome and horrifying events during their time of serving the army. Seeing such horrifying things affected their mental and emotional thinking “PTSD is defined as a re-experience of a traumatic event, for example, flashbacks. Anything can trigger a flashback a click, a movement, anything associated with the past event” (Cruz). Seeing such horrifying things affected their mental and emotional thinking. A soldier was told to forget what they saw and basically move on from it, but it only made it worse. Having everything “bottled up” makes it even harder to treat PTSD. U.S. soldiers had to live with the disorder on their own without any help. “The veterans experience combat related nightmares, anxiety, anger, depression, alcohol and/or drug dependency, all are symptoms of PTSD” (Begg). The symptoms occurred over long periods of time when that person has been in certain situations that he or she was not ready to be in. Some of these situations including the Vietnam veterans not feeling like their unit was together or united. “Soldiers were sent into replace other soldiers, which caused the other members of the group to make fun or haze them. The unit never developed as much loyalty to each other as they should have” (Paulson and Krippner). “Many of...
James was a Marine right out of his second tour of Iraq, during which he faced a bloody
...has failed to help him deal with his inner emotions from his military experience. He has been through a traumatic experience for the past two years, and he does not have anyone genuinely interested in him enough to take the time to find out what's going on in his mind and heart. Kreb's is disconnected from the life he had before the war, and without genuine help and care from these people he lived with, and around all his childhood life, it's difficult to return to the routines that everyone is accustomed to.
...She does not act like the other girls, most of the time yet, she does want Krebs to fit into to a role -- her beau -- and fulfil obligations -- going to her indoor baseball game. Those two attributes together cause Krebs to be fonder of his sister than anyone else and at the same time push her away. Krebs even pushes away his mother because she tries to diligently to convince him to conform. Thus causing Krebs’s to say he does not love her, the ultimate form of rejection a child can do to a parent. Due to guilt Krebs does agree to conform but struggles with his decision. Ernest Hemingway’s character Harold Krebs tries to reject conforming to society but in the end he realizes that he can not escape it and grapple with reality.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), originally associated with combat, has always been around in some shape or form but it was not until 1980 that it was named Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and became an accredited diagnosis (Rothschild). The fact is PTSD is one of many names for an old problem; that war has always had a severe psychological impact on people in immediate and lasting ways. PTSD has a history that is as long and significant as the world’s war history - thousands of years. Although, the diagnosis has not been around for that long, different names and symptoms of PTSD always have been. Some physical symptoms include increased blood pressure, excessive heart rate, rapid breathing, muscle tension, nausea, diarrhea, problems with vision, speech, walking disorders, convulsive vomiting, cardiac palpitations, twitching or spasms, weakness and severe muscular cramps. The individual may also suffer from psychological symptoms, such as violent nightmares, flashbacks, melancholy, disturbed sleep or insomnia, loss of appetite, and anxieties when certain things remind them such as the anniversary date of the event (Peterson, 2009).
Imagine living in despair after coming back home, dismayed from a war that got no appreciation. Robert Kroger once said in his quote, “The brave men and women, who serve their country and as a result, live constantly with the war inside them, exist in a world of chaos. But the turmoil they experience isn’t who they are, the PTSD invades their minds and bodies.” Eleven percent of Vietnam Veterans still suffer with symptoms of the terrifying disorder of PTSD (Handwerk). Vietnam Veterans struggle with the physiological effects of PTSD after war, which leads to despair and many deaths.
Although in different ways, the two women have lost what was most crucial to them. All Carlene Kipps ever wanted was to “love and be loved” however, as she was dying of cancer, clearly weak, lethargic and sick, her family never noticed. Kiki “married her best friend”, and moved to the city of his choosing. There she was pushed into the mold she didn’t know how to fill, and just as she felt she lost the ability to be who she truly was in public, she lost the ability to communicate with her husband in private. Through their genuine empathy and honestly, Carlene and Kiki were able to transcend the differences that separated the rest of their families to become exactly what the other needed. Carlene needed someone to love her, someone to listen, someone to care. Kiki needed someone to be honest with her, and to allow her to be honest in
She would not have grieved over someone she did not love. Even in the heat of her passion, she thinks about her lost love. She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked safe with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead. Her love may not have been the greatest love of all time, but it was still love. Marriage was not kind to Mrs. Mallard, her life was dull and not worth living, her face showed the years of repression.
Post-Traumatic stress disorder is a psychiatric disorder that may develop after one has been a victim or witness of a traumatic event (What is PTSD). Men and women who served in the Vietnam War were vulnerable to many acts of violence and death such as guerilla warfare. After being discharged from the Armed Forces, they may experience flashbacks when a trigger brings back a memory or they may also suffer from nightmares or insomnia due to specific rattling experiences (Riley, Julie). Not being able to sleep can have some deteriorating effects on the body which can make life after war very hard to adjust to. The transfer of the Armed Forces back home life can be somewhat of a culture shock. However, anyone can develop PTSD. A person who has been a victim of abuse, an unexpected death/accident, or even a survivor of a natural disaster is at risk of being diagnosed with this disorder (Mental Health America). They may experience some symptoms of; depression, irritability, insomnia, flashbacks, they may complain of headaches or stomach pain, and may become reserved (Riley, Julie). These indicatio...
... nothing more than a typical Jewish New Yorker. His desire to be someone more exotic is prevalent when compared to Kugelmass’ desires. He may feel as if he doesn’t possess enough passion and class to be considered one of the great authors. He often plays off the comedic aspects of life to conceal his shortcomings. The reason for failed attempts in relationships is because he will always be missing something. Through his repeated attempts to fill that void with someone new until something better came along continued until he received backlash from people concerned about his relationship with his adopted daughter. She is his tener which caused him to lose the respect of many including his other children. Although he is not trapped in their current relationship---the stigma will always be there and the consequences will forever be present in how others view him.
Not a lot is known about what happens with individuals that have PTSD, but what