Psychological Disorders In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

I have always found interest in the way the brain functions. It is one of the primary influences on my decision to study psychology. As a psychology major I have learned all about why humans act as they do. One interesting concept is the way the body responds to stress. Stressors initiate the flight or fight response in the body. This is your brain’s way of telling your body, whether it should stay or flee in a perceived or potentially dangerous situation. Cases in which the body does not have the option to flee can end up resulting in a brain alteration causing a psychological disorder. Paranoia, recklessness, depression, thoughts of suicide, night terrors, substance abuse, and sudden outbursts of violence are symptoms often present in soldiers

Although never directly named, Tim O’Brien illustrates cases of PTSD within characters such as Ted Lavender, Norman Bowker, Jensen, and even himself as a fictional character. Ted Lavender was known for often carrying around a supply of tranquilizers. According to O’Brien, “they told stories about Ted Lavender’s supply of tranquilizers, how the poor guy didn’t feel a thing, how incredibly tranquil he was” (O’Brien 19). Lavender would habitually self medicate leaving the impression that he almost certainly had some form of PTSD. Not only does O’Brien exemplify radical cases of PTSD he demonstrates the emotional effects that come along with the condition. After Jensen and Strunk engage in a brawl, Jensen breaks out in a fit of rage, which is often a symptom, accompanied with PTSD. Alongside his fit of rage, “Jensen couldn’t relax. Like fighting two different wars, he said. No safe ground: enemies everywhere… Jensen would be sitting with his back against a stone wall, weapon across his knees, watching Lee Strunk with nervous eyes. It got to the point finally where he lost control. Something must’ve snapped” (O’Brien 60). The passage continues to display Jensen’s emotional state by explaining how he borrowed a pistol and used it to break his own nose. Later, Jensen asks Strunk if things were okay between them, but couldn’t stop laughing and

According to the US Department of Veterans Affairs, PTSD was found to be evident in about “eleven percent of veterans of the war in Afghanistan, but twenty percent of veterans who served in Iraq” (How Common Is PTSD 1). War hero Chris Kyle, sniper for the American Navy, is one example of soldiers with PTSD. Kyle became known after the movie made in his honor, American Sniper. During his first of four tours he was faced with a difficult decision, “through the scope of his .300 Winchester rifle, he saw a woman with a child pull a grenade from under her clothes… Kyle’s job was to provide over watch” (Bateson). From then on Kyle was credited with “160 confirmed kills” (Bateson). Killing, however, did not come easy to the war hero. He suffered drastically from the obscenities he witnessed during the war, and eventually agonized the consequences of PTSD. While on duty, Kyle witnessed experiences that evidently aided to his condition as “the face of his machine gun partner was torn apart by shrapnel”, he watched a “comrade die when an enemy bullet entered his mouth and exited his head”, and scrutinized a “third friend die when an enemy grenade bounced off his chest and he jumped on it before it exploded in order to save everyone around him” (Bateson). The events that soldiers witness are obvious cases as to