Forum - View topic

Sword Art Online II (TV).

We're essentially providing our own name to describe the symptoms we're seeing, but I do think that it was Kawahara's goal to provide two characters with symptoms that we would recognize as semi-PTSD (even if he doesn't notice that himself), and to have their shared experience with those similar symptoms provide them with a bonding and healing experience.

Not all forms of PTSD have "other symptoms.".

Bugnin wrote:

Not all forms of PTSD have "other symptoms.".

http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/PTSD-overview/dsm5_criteria_ptsd.asp

Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms may start within three months of a traumatic event, but sometimes symptoms may not appear until years after the event.

Shinon's attempt to cure hers is simplistic in the extreme. Gee, I'll solve my trauma by experiencing a virtual representation of what gave me the trauma in the first place.

Bugnin wrote:

Not all forms of PTSD have "other symptoms.".

http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/PTSD-overview/dsm5_criteria_ptsd.asp

Criterion A: stressor

The person was exposed to: death, threatened death, actual or threatened serious injury, or actual or threatened sexual violence, as follows: (one required)
1.Direct exposure.
2.Witnessing, in person.
3.Indirectly, by learning that a close relative or close friend was exposed to trauma. If the event involved actual or threatened death, it must have been violent or accidental.
4.Repeated or extreme indirect exposure to aversive details of the event(s), usually in the course of professional duties (e.g., first responders, collecting body parts; professionals repeatedly exposed to details of child abuse). This does not include indirect non-professional exposure through electronic media, television, movies, or pictures.

Criterion B: intrusion symptoms

The traumatic event is persistently re-experienced in the following way(s): (one required)
1.Recurrent, involuntary, and intrusive memories. Note: Children older than six may express this symptom in repetitive play.
2.Traumatic nightmares. Note: Children may have frightening dreams without content related to the trauma(s).
3.Dissociative reactions (e.g., flashbacks) which may occur on a continuum from brief episodes to complete loss of consciousness. Note: Children may reenact the event in play.
4.Intense or prolonged distress after exposure to traumatic reminders.
5.Marked physiologic reactivity after exposure to trauma-related stimuli.

Criterion C: avoidance

Persistent effortful avoidance of distressing trauma-related stimuli after the event: (one required)
1.Trauma-related thoughts or feelings.
2.Trauma-related external reminders (e.g., people, places, conversations, activities, objects, or situations).

Criterion D: negative alterations in cognitions and mood

Negative alterations in cognitions and mood that began or worsened after the traumatic event: (two required)
1.Inability to recall key features of the traumatic event (usually dissociative amnesia; not due to head injury, alcohol, or drugs).
2.Persistent (and often distorted) negative beliefs and expectations about oneself or the world (e.g., "I am bad," "The world is completely dangerous").
3.Persistent distorted blame of self or others for causing the traumatic event or for resulting consequences.
4.Persistent negative trauma-related emotions (e.g., fear, horror, anger, guilt, or shame).
5.Markedly diminished interest in (pre-traumatic) significant activities.
6.Feeling alienated from others (e.g., detachment or estrangement).
7.Constricted affect: persistent inability to experience positive emotions.

Criterion E: alterations in arousal and reactivity

Trauma-related alterations in arousal and reactivity that began or worsened after the traumatic event: (two required)
1.Irritable or aggressive behavior
2.Self-destructive or reckless behavior
3.Hypervigilance
4.Exaggerated startle response
5.Problems in concentration
6.Sleep disturbance

Criterion F: duration

Persistence of symptoms (in Criteria B, C, D, and E) for more than one month.

Criterion G: functional significance

Significant symptom-related distress or functional impairment (e.g., social, occupational).

Criterion H: exclusion

Disturbance is not due to medication, substance use, or other illness.

Specify if: With dissociative symptoms.

In addition to meeting criteria for diagnosis, an individual experiences high levels of either of the following in reaction to trauma-related stimuli:
1.Depersonalization: experience of being an outside observer of or detached from oneself (e.g., feeling as if "this is not happening to me" or one were in a dream).
2.Derealization: experience of unreality, distance, or distortion (e.g., "things are not real").

Specify if: With delayed expression.

Full diagnosis is not met until at least six months after the trauma(s), although onset of symptoms may occur immediately.

Blood- wrote:

Shinon's attempt to cure hers is simplistic in the extreme. Gee, I'll solve my trauma by experiencing a virtual representation of what gave me the trauma in the first place.

That's not nearly as silly as your tone suggests you think it is. It's actually a pretty standard treatment: you expose the patient to their fear in a safe and controlled environment so they'll eventually get used to it.

So yeah, Shinon's approach is very simplistic but she's a teenager so I'm not exactly expecting massive amounts of sophistication from her in dealing with her problem.

Remember that American Sniper dude who tried to help other combat veterans who suffered from PTSD by taking them to a firing range and shooting weapons? One of those guys turned the weapon on him and a friend who was there.

I can't speak for much about a clinically recognized condition such as PTSD, but I do have some practical experience (due to my hobby) about dealing with fear. And the exposure she is giving herself is not a bad first step in dealing with Shinon's fear.

The question of whether Shinon could or could not follow an non-simplistic approach is irrelevant to the point at hand. Some people are claiming that the show is handling the issue of PTSD in a "mature" manner and I think that notion is patently ridiculous. The idea that a fun, escapist show would take a "mature" approach to PTSD is just silly. Again, that is no knock against SAO II. That simply shows the writers know what kind of show they are doing and they are not going to weigh it down with the sort of treatment PTSD would get in a literary novel or serious film, for example.

jl07045 wrote:

Bugnin wrote: Not all forms of PTSD have "other symptoms.". http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/PTSD-overview/dsm5_criteria_ptsd.asp

Those aren't 'other symptoms,' those are the symptoms. If patients meet that criteria, then they have the disorder. Let's break it down, shall we?

No, let's not. You're not a psychiatrist. You're a random dude on the internet that uses info you just found in a webpage to prove a point, because you have nothing better to do.

jl07045 wrote:

No, let's not. You're not a psychiatrist. You're a random dude on the internet that uses info you just found in a webpage to prove a point, because you have nothing better to do.

I think that psychology degree on my wall elevates me above "random dude" level at the very least.