Thanks for posting. What's going to happen when these students are practicing lawyers and grandma kicks the bucket? Will they request their cases be delayed? I wonder what people from war-torn countries think of this? Refugees who saw their loved ones gunned down, Holocaust survivors, former prisoners of war - when they hear about well-fed American college students needing time off to recover from merely reading about a bad judgement, surely they think that their desire to be perceived as victims is unseemly, insensitive, or just plain nuts.
I grew up in countries where military coups occurred annually (which resulted in people being gunned down in the streets and general lawlessness). My parents carried several weapons they could fire that we stowed in our vehicle in case we were pulled over. By the time I was 10, I'd had guns pointed at my head countless times by varying groups attempting to extort money... In some countries where we were stationed, friends disappeared when they disagreed with anyone in power, village justice involved bypassing the law with hands being chopped off or thieves who are caught being forced to drink bleach, etc. We were airlifted out of one country when it was clear that NGO and medical personnel were being targeted.
I don't feel that I suffer from PTSD from that childhood because it was the norm for us and was something we expected and prepared for. However, the Americans who were in the same organization commented regularly about how traumatic it was for THEM to have to experience such a life.
When students tell me they're traumatized by their roommate having broken up with their BF/GF, I am thankful that THAT is the most awful thing they have to contend with right now. I feel like it's only as traumatic as the rhetoric we allow people to use. If medial conflate it, then it's suddenly traumatic. If it's viewed as 'normal,' then there's no need for trauma. And we live in a country where media pretty much portray EVERYTHING to be traumatic and dramatic. So it makes sense that students view ANY conflict ANYWHERE, as something they should be traumatized by.
Thanks for a different perspective, Cynic. This is not the first I've heard of college students dealing with PTSD from reading disturbing news articles. It is not doing them any good to view themselves as victims-by-proxy. Once they graduate from college, there will be no one to pad the rough edges of the world so that they never feel uncomfortable or upset. The world isn't a safe space.
Thanks for posting. What's going to happen when these students are practicing lawyers and grandma kicks the bucket? Will they request their cases be delayed? I wonder what people from war-torn countries think of this? Refugees who saw their loved ones gunned down, Holocaust survivors, former prisoners of war - when they hear about well-fed American college students needing time off to recover from merely reading about a bad judgement, surely they think that their desire to be perceived as victims is unseemly, insensitive, or just plain nuts.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in countries where military coups occurred annually (which resulted in people being gunned down in the streets and general lawlessness). My parents carried several weapons they could fire that we stowed in our vehicle in case we were pulled over. By the time I was 10, I'd had guns pointed at my head countless times by varying groups attempting to extort money... In some countries where we were stationed, friends disappeared when they disagreed with anyone in power, village justice involved bypassing the law with hands being chopped off or thieves who are caught being forced to drink bleach, etc. We were airlifted out of one country when it was clear that NGO and medical personnel were being targeted.
ReplyDeleteI don't feel that I suffer from PTSD from that childhood because it was the norm for us and was something we expected and prepared for. However, the Americans who were in the same organization commented regularly about how traumatic it was for THEM to have to experience such a life.
When students tell me they're traumatized by their roommate having broken up with their BF/GF, I am thankful that THAT is the most awful thing they have to contend with right now. I feel like it's only as traumatic as the rhetoric we allow people to use. If medial conflate it, then it's suddenly traumatic. If it's viewed as 'normal,' then there's no need for trauma. And we live in a country where media pretty much portray EVERYTHING to be traumatic and dramatic. So it makes sense that students view ANY conflict ANYWHERE, as something they should be traumatized by.
Thanks for a different perspective, Cynic. This is not the first I've heard of college students dealing with PTSD from reading disturbing news articles. It is not doing them any good to view themselves as victims-by-proxy. Once they graduate from college, there will be no one to pad the rough edges of the world so that they never feel uncomfortable or upset. The world isn't a safe space.
ReplyDeleteHow do you abbreviate "Life After Grad School" to make PTSD?
ReplyDeletePost Thesis Stress Disorder?
DeleteProfessional Trained Simpering Douchebags?