Holden's Post-Traumatic Stress Disor

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Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a brain disorder that “develops after a terrifying ordeal that involved physical harm or the threat of physical harm”(Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) -National Institute of Mental Health). People with PTSD have often experienced or witnessed a traumatic event or death of a loved one. It is said that “any seemingly life-threatening event- or series of events- that overwhelms you with feeling of hopelessness and helplessness can trigger PTSD, especially if the event feels unpredictable or uncontrollable” (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)- Helpguide.org). Post Traumatic stress disorder has a major effect in Holden’s life and is one of the main sources of most of his difficulties. Holden has many problems …show more content…
The first main type of symptoms is usually intrusive memories such as recurrent, unwanted memories of the event, reliving the event, flashbacks, and upsetting dreams about the traumatic event. Next, another symptom is avoidance. This includes trying to avoid thinking/talking about the event or avoiding places, activities, or people that remind you of the event. Negative changes in thinking and mood can involve actions such as negative feeling about yourself or others, inability to feel positive emotions, or feeling emotionally numb, hopelessness about the future, and difficulty maintaining close relationships. Holden has a very difficult time maintaining close relationships and this is shown to us many times throughout the novel. The main motif showing that Holden cannot maintain relationships is his continuously unmade phonecalls. In the novel, Holden says, “The first thing I did when I got off at Penn Station, I went into the phone booth. I felt like giving somebody a buzz... but as soon as I was inside, I couldn’t think of anybody to call up. My brother D.B. was in Hollywood. My kid sister Phoebe... was out. Then I thought of giving Jane Gallagher’s mother a buzz... Then I thought of calling this girl... Sally Hayes... I thought of calling Carl Luce... so I ended up not calling anybody” (Salinger 59). Lastly, a major symptom that most people with PTSD experience is a change in …show more content…
There are many risk factors that heighten the risk of developing PTSD such as a history of mental illness, getting hurt, seeing people hurt or killed, feeling helplessness or extreme fear, or having little or no social support. Although recovering from a traumatic experience can be difficult, there are resilience factors that reduce the risk of PTSD. These factors can include seeking out support from other people such as family and friends, finding and meeting with a support group, feeling good about one’s own actions when they are put in a dangerous situation, and having a coping strategy (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)- National Institute of Mental Health). Holden was more likely to develop his PTSD because he did not have any social support as he went through the loss of Allie and he tried to isolate himself more after Allie’s death. Holden says, “I was only thirteen and they were going to have me psychoanalyzed and all, because I broke all the windows in the garage. I don’t blame them. I really don’t. I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddam windows with my fist, just for the hell of it” (Salinger 39). Holden’s parents did not get him psychoanalyzed until years after Allie’s death, so he was never able to find a way to cope with his problems he was having with it. This is why Holden’s lack of social support is a factor of his Post-Traumatic Stress