They do get PTSD, sometimes. But I think the discussion in here is really mixing and confusing things a bit. Since even if a perpetrator get PTSD after committing a crime, that doesn't mean he can "blame" the PTSD for his/hers crime/action. (The action came before the PTSD for gods sake!) Besides can a person who suffers from PTSD blame her illness for her actions should she commit a crime?? In my country they wouldn't get away with it. Only a psychosis could be an "excuse", but not for real because in that case the person is sentenced to psychiatric care for a unknown time: until they consider him/her of no danger to society.
There is no "boo-hoo-factor" here.. Only facts. And the question was if they do get PTSD from committing a crime,
and sometimes they do. PTSD does not equals "victim".
But the diagnose criteria differs a bit if you compare ICD-10(which is uses where I live) and DSM-IV. In ICD-10 there is no room for subjective things like "helplessness".
Link Removed
Or this:
Furthermore, those at risk of PTSD include not only those who are directly affected by a
horrific event, but also witnesses, perpetrators and those who help PTSD sufferers (vicarious
traumatisation). People at risk of PTSD include:
victims of violent crime (e.g. physical and sexual assaults, sexual abuse, bombings, riots)
members of the armed forces, police, journalists and prison service, fire service, ambulance
and emergency personnel, including those no longer in service
From this document:
PTSDMAMA128191
If only the person who is in moral sense(a subjective matter though; since different people can have different morals/opinions) "the victim" could be diagnosed with PTSD a police who killed another person accidentally couldn't be diagnosed right? But that's really sidetracking things, because nevertheless the diagnose criteria allows even those inflicting the violence them selves to get the diagnose should they fit the other criterion's as well. Flashbacks are pretty common among some abusers, and they can also suffer from nightmares, intrusive thoughts, anxiety, overwhelming feelings of guilt(if they're capable of feeling that: not all abusers are, and not all abusers suffers from PTSD neither before nor after their crimes) etc.
This is going off topic now(but commenting on some of the sidetracks I've seen in this thread):
Per Isdal, a Norwegian psychotherapist who have been working a lot with abusers and have written books about violence(he have received awards for his work), has stated that violence is not a "blind act": not "stupid" in that sense that it has no meaning. It has meaning, in the eyes of the perpetrator. There is a lot of rubbish and myths about violence that serves to keep the violence "excused". Perpetrators are often acting out of the "meaning of violence". That means that violence serves a purpose, but it's not always a conscious purpose: it's often hidden for the perpetrator himself/herself. And usually they use the same nonsense that the society also states about violence to excuse their actions: "I couldn't control my self! I just lost my temper! It was a blind act!" etc. But for real they did chose to act the way they did, but not as a conscious choice: rather they're ruled by their own feelings: often by feelings of(hear now!)
helplessness. They often feel helpless, and like victims, and as if they have no choice.
Per Isdal says that
violence is often a reaction to a strong feeling of powerlessness. Of course it's a subjective feeling, not the actual fact. The man who beats up or murders his woman
is not her victim. But during the actual deed he often perceives him self to be the victim, and he is of his own impulses and feelings. (I'm talking about the persons who are not sociopaths and such; they work in a different way.)
"She was about to leave me! She was lying and cheating on me, and everyone else was laughing at me!" Etc. (Sometimes those things are only real in his own sick mind; not in the reality.) If a perpetrator can get help to understand his own actions, and stop blaming the victim, they can learn to see that they're sick and really have a choice to change(it often requires a lot of professional help) or continue being abusers.
