Is PTSD “popular?”

[Digz]

Yes! It's so frustrating to watch. I was watching an Aussie soapie the other day and a character is currently experiencing PTS from being stabbed and I find myself just rolling my eyes and thinking 'here we go again'. He basically has one symptom - nightmares. I always love how quickly they get over it in these shows too. I think this is one of the worst things because it leads to this huge misconception that it can be cured - "Oh, I went to see a therapist twice, look at that, I'm all better." ?
Complex trauma certainly doesn't exist in popular media - neither does child abuse. Although, child abuse isn't really acknowledged in general society so that's not surprising. It's a good way to get rid of someone you don't like though, suggest you've been abused... they automatically have that 'deer in the headlights, I want to run away and go back to pretending this doesn't happen' look.
It's how general society functions.

 

[Mee]

Yes to recovering quickly! When I was first diagnosed my dr said ‘ if these symptoms last short term we call it... ( can’t exactly remember, something like traumatic stress?) and we consider it a normal thing people go through in reaction to things, it’s a healthy process, and worked through. But when it lasts longer than a certain period and you get stuck in it it’s PTSD .

 

[Skywatcher]

I feel like SVU does a good job of letting the PTSD stuff continue to affect the main characters. Counseling comes and goes as well, which may be realistic for many with our condition. My therapist recently told me that she isn’t sure if I’ll have a long term continuance of therapy or not. I had asked What termination looks like. I
Think about this anytime that I have a few good days in my week. Then I cycle into my extreme abandonment issues and a panic of me spending the week realizing that someday I’ll be without her. She said that most therapists wouldn’t turn a former client away if they needed to return. She also said that some of her clients like to check in every few months or so. Kind of like “maintenance.” I’ve never really seen long term therapy in TV shows/movies either. Then I start to think that I’m really f*cked up because I can’t seem to heal fast enough.

 

[siniang]

So you have issues with the way how mental illnesses in general and PTSD in particular as well as the therapy process are portrayed in the media.

But what is the alternative? Keep being silent about it and never include it/

These are movies/TV shows, they are not documentaries. They tell stories and mental illnesses are just one part of those stories.

I'd rather movies/shows include mental illnesses as part of the narrative, either directly or as a side-story, because it normalizes it instead of creating more stigma by keeping silent about it. People at least learn about their existence. They can go from there to learn more about them -- and frankly, when people think fictive stories re-present real life 1:1, than there's a whole lot of other issues at hand.

Also, always keep in mind, PTSD is a spectrum and every single person has a different set of symptoms that play out at very different intensity levels. For all of you - us - who can't relate with how it's being portrayed, there are other people for whom it hits home.

I feel your frustration and I get it, but I think it's more helpful if you accept that it's not a black and white thing and as such can't be portrayed as a black and white thing. Because, indirectly, what you're asking is for YOUR story to be portrayed.

I'm actually coming from the other angle, personally. I have my beef with mental illnesses in the media always being portrayed with the most severe and obvious symptoms. Anxiety? Constant panic attacks and break downs, can't go outside without hyperventilating etc. Depression? Not getting out of bed and crying all day. PTSD? Flashbacks and nightmares.

While the reality is way more nuanced.

 

[Digz]

@siniang I get what you're saying here and awareness is important and that's essentially what this is, but awareness is a double-edged sword. The promotion of mental illnesses to create awareness is great and needs to happen, but does also lead to other problems such as misunderstandings and over-identification. Depression is the classic example of this, where awareness programs have worked well for their objectives but have led to misunderstandings and over identification, where depression is used to describe regular human sadness.
There isn't really a good answer here. I don't think anybody was suggesting it not be portrayed, just expressing their frustration at what they see compared to the often-reality, just like you have, as this is the place to share such frustrations.

 

[Justmehere]

It's not just PTSD, and I'm not sure it's unique to our times. There is a fictional show on Amazon now that is all about a woman who is bipolar. In the past, depictions of mental illness were terrible. It's improving. Unsane: how film's portrayal of mental illness is (slowly) improving

Also something to keep in mind: What you see pop up via any media source that is online may also be tailored to what websites you visit, what you search out, what you click on for you. The increase of certain types of media showing up for you might be more of a reflection of algorithms trying to pick out what you would like. I recently watched a film on Hulu related to MS because a friend of mine has MS. Weeks later, I'm seeing a lot of news about MS pop up left and right. It seems like there is greater attention, but it's probably not actually the case.

That all being said, it may be increasing a little. Some of the depictions are terrible, but more and more of them are getting away from harmful and towards something a little more helpful.

 

[TruthSeeker]

Im also in the multiple traumas boat. It doesn’t make a pretty TV drama. Part of me loves that people are talking about it, part of me hates that because of the nature of making storytelling entertaining, there has to be an “end”. There has to be a happily ever after where the hero/heroine no longer has to deal with symptoms and lives their life gleefully, when real life is a cycle and often miserable at times and happy at others. I think romanticizing it at times can be dangerous as well, but at the same time I’m like well...at least someone without it can see some of what I went through and try to understand. I can’t watch SVU and never have been able to. My rapist and abuser liked watching it (wtffff that’s something I’ll have to bring up to my T lol). I think maybe a lot of the writers of these shows don’t actually have PTSD too, which is probably why it’s painted all pretty.

Im more into fairy tale stories, and happy endings, than drama.....I don't want to watch drama....I've endured enough....willingly. It is bliss to have cut out the family drama from my life. I think back at those films....why did I ever stay? I'm cautious about the shows I watch.....and if they are filled with cursing...nope.....I gravitate now to happily ever after.

Schools are now "trauma informed" and trauma is being identified as a social problem. Now there will be shows soon with kids having PTSD, just like there are more autism shows. PTSD is just a formal name given to people who suffered their trauma....and continue to suffer.....so, if viewers connect with abusive situations, zoning out, fear and anxiety, producers will create more shows with characters diagnosed with or struggling with PTSD. It is up to viewers to rate these shows as entertaining or not.....or to ignore and not watch...then they go off the air.

 

[Skywatcher]

@siniang I have no desire for MY story to be portrayed. That was part of my point. Nothing about PTSD is entertaining to me. I think part of my point is that people act like they need a mental condition to be “cool” or get special attention when I try to hide my condition at work and I see how difficult it makes for the people in my life. I guess on TV it just seems easier or easier to get support. No worries about paying for therapy or being able to maintain a job.

I do see the value that some people are pointing out as well.

 

[starvingGrad]

I just don’t think that this drama on tv is anything like my experience, possibly because my experience is happening to me and it’s not entertaining.

Often I feel like shit watching so many tv shows, i have multiple traumas as well and its surprising what will trigger you even if its not obvious. While my traumas aren't usual subjects for "ptsd themed" episodes, I went through a period of not watching tv at all because I felt like most tv shows's protagonists are written to be selfish and narcissistic toxic people, and I was disgusted by these characters being loved and celebrated by those around me who weren't making the same connections. I hated that toxic behavior was being normalized and even laughed at. (think about homer simpson and his relationships with his family and neighbors, he's an inconsiderate asshole to everyone and his children would have had major psychological trauma as they aged due to his actions. and yet he is an extremely beloved character and millions of people laugh over the absurdity. but for people who grew up with parents who actually acted like homer the jokes don't quite land.) I found shaun the sheep to be a pretty decent binge watch during this period.

The show that made me the most angry was Greys Anatomy, pretty much everybody on that show had PTSD, but the only person who they made an effort towards writing accurately and explored the chronic issues with was the ex military character. more of that "2 miracle therapy sessions" then heading back to being a world-class surgeon, it was complete bullshit. However... one of the more recent seasons gave me hope, they had actually put in actual research and effort towards a story line about a character who escaped an abusive marriage. As it turns out the writer of those episodes has a chronic disability herself, and put the effort in. Granted the arc had an annoyingly happy resolution, just like so many other shows before it. I stumbled on this article last year, and it had an interesting argument that I think could be applied to portrayal of trauma in tv. My Disability Story Isn’t For Your Catharsis (disclaimer: I neither agree nor disagree with the article, but it was definitely food for thought about the target audience for trauma stories)

I myself wouldn't use the term "popular" to describe PTSD, although I don't think its necessarily bad. Take this example: in 1960 the prevalence of people on the autistic spectrum was estimated 2 or 4 affected per 10,000 children, the cdc in america now puts estimates at 1 per 59 children. So how do we partially explain the rise over the last 50 years? (yes there are many unknown factors as well) One thing that has directly contributed to the rate rise is the definitions and diagnosing of children showing signs of being on the autistic spectrum. PTSD rates are probably following suit as the way we define and diagnose the disorder evolve. PTSD and related conditions are more commonly being treated, leading to better prevalence data, which in turn brings it into societies eye.

Mental health issues including PTSD are still a pretty unknown concept to the general population, and there is a lot of ignorance going around, its hard to elicit meaningful empathy for those living with conditions when you yourself have not experienced them or have not been educated about them. I can say one thing on the side of the popularizing of it in media, it raises awareness to the public. While its early days yet, and its apparently most easily explained to people through stories about soldiers coming back from a war, I have hope that shows will evolve to explore the lesser known causes and intricacies.

 

[Dire Parsnip]

I think sometimes we see things more because the universe needs us to see it. So, yes ptsd is all over tv, but its also the thing you're noticing. You could see pink roses everywhere because they were relevant to your life as well.

Ptsd can be "over." at least until the next trauma. That's not to say it should be, or if you can't get to that point that its a failure. Ptsd is caused by society's failure to protect us. When society (our local society built of friends and family) can fill that failure our bargains can switch to safe mode again. Ptsd is emergency mode. While it might cause inconveniences or out right disasters for us ptsd is at its core a safety measure taken by our brain. So if tv and media can change society and make it and us safer then it will have done its job and be over.

 

[katz]

@Skywatcher I totally understand that feeling of those expectations. I had an ex who watched 13 reasons why and thought he suddenly understood my diagnosis completely. I felt great that he was trying, but as time went on, it became clear he expected it to get better faster and he had no more patience for me. It's frustrating, because it shows people what it's like, but not really. Like a false hope soup haha.

My husband is also waiting for me to "heal". I can't make him understand that this does not go away. He even has difficulty understanding that it can come and go.

I have also found - even with all the work and studies that have gone on in the last few years- my insurance company still thinks that this condition can be "treated" with one or two appointments.