Amanda Pun

English 113`
Professor Lacey
18 February 2015
Greys Anatomy
INTRODUCTION
-Bring up the idea that surgeons, or doctors in general are perceived to be invulnerable
-Present different diseases and disorders
-Define difference between disease and disorder
-Thesis: In the television show Greys Anatomy, a variety of medical diseases and disorders are
presented realistically in different surgeons, thus giving viewers insight into the lives of suffering
patients.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that may occur when a
person experiences or witnesses an event perceived as a threat and in which he or she
experiences fear, terror, or helplessness (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Gale Encyclopedia
of Medicine). These traumatic events may be due to natural events (ex. natural disasters) or
manmade events (ex. shootings). The symptoms of PTSD are grouped into three clusters:
persistent re-experiencing of the traumatic event, persistent avoidance of reminders, and
persistent symptoms of increased arousal (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder International
Encyclopedia of Marriage and Family). Event re-experiences occur as flashbacks, traumatic
daydreams, or nightmares; these memories are triggered by stimuli that remind the patient of
the traumatic event and are wordless, meaning they only contain images and sensations (PostTraumatic Stress Disorder Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine). For someone to be diagnosed with
PTSD, the symptoms must last for at least one month. Symptoms may develop within three

months of exposure to the traumatic event. PTSD symptoms tend to be evident at home, work,
or school and in interpersonal relationships (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder International
Encyclopedia of Marriage and Family).
PTSD not only affects those diagnosed with this disorder, but also those that surround
these patients, including co-workers, friends, and family. PTSD causes patients to suffer from
significant social, interpersonal, or work-related problems. These social problems include
feelings of disconnection, even from loved ones. (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Gale
Encyclopedia of Medicine).
PTSD affects many characters in Greys Anatomy throughout the seasons, but the
character that depicts PTSD to the greatest extent is Owen Hunt. Owen Hunt, a trauma surgeon
who joined the hospital staff after returning from war in Iraq, suffers from severe PTSD. Owens
re-experiencing of his traumatic events occurs as flashbacks and nightmares; the television show
depicts these re-experiences accurately since they contain no words and are triggered by a
stimulus (Owens stimuli include the rotating ceiling fan and the propellers of helicopters). These
re-experiences cause Owen an immense amount of distress, causing him to react violently
physically, not just mentally. Owens nervous system is constantly aroused and he tries to combat
this by distracting himself with work. However, his hyperarousal causes him to be easily irritated
and startled, making work difficult. There were many instances where Owens increased
irritability lead to panic attacks at work.
While Owen Hunt does present PTSD symptoms at work, his most prominent
representations of PTSD occur in the presence of his significant other, Cristina Yang. When
Owen is aware and conscious of his actions, he is loving and caring towards Cristina. In contrast,
when he has no control over his actions, like during nightmares, he becomes violent. Owen
wakes up one night to find that he is choking Cristina after having a nightmare; his disgust

towards himself after realizing what he did solidifies the idea that he is not in control of his
behavior at times due to this disorder. Owens constant state of hyperarousal and emotional
fragility poses problems for his relationship with Cristina because he fears for her safety. Despite
this, Owens symptoms of avoidance cause him to refrain from talking about his trauma. Owen
and Cristina seek help from a therapist who urges Owen to speak to Cristina about his traumas.
Owen's representation of PTSD is realistic and demonstrates all the symptoms stated by
the Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine and International Encyclopedia of Marriage and Family.
Grey's Anatomy illustrates PTSD to its entire extent and makes viewers aware that while Owen is
suffering from the disorder, he is causing his loved ones to suffer as well. The show also portrays
how PTSD affects someone's entire life through Owen's difficulties with personal relationships
and work.
Another medical disorder presented in Greys Anatomy is phantom limb syndrome.
Phantom limb refers to the abnormal sensations perceived from a previously amputated limb
(Phantom Limb). These sensations are thought to be caused by the reorganization of the central
and peripheral nervous system. The brain alters its connections or functioning in response to
changes, such as everyday learning or injury. Symptoms may present immediately after
amputation, or months to years after (Traumatic Amputations). Sensations emanate from the
absent limb, and in certain cases, the limb may still feel intact. These sensations can be both
painful and non-painful. Painful symptoms include burning, throbbing, or stabbing in nature
(Phantom Limb). Non-painful symptoms include temperature changes, itching, tingling,
shock-like sensations, or perceived motion of the phantom limb (Phantom Limb).
Furthermore, patients may experience changes in pain and most painful symptoms resolve on
their own; however, some patients experience chronic pain (Rugnetta). While there are no cures

for phantom limb, there are different techniques used to help relieve the pain. Some techniques
include biofeedback and mirror box therapy.
Phantom limb syndrome consumed Dr. Arizona Robbins after a terrible plane accident in
the woods at the end of season eight; this accident left her with a severe broken leg and no other
options except for amputation. Despite her doctors best efforts to preserve her leg, Arizonas leg
had become infected and without amputation, she would not have survived. Arizona does not
appear to have any symptoms of phantom limb syndrome until months after the plane crash. As
stated by Rugnetta, the pain Arizona experiences did not remain constant. Arizonas symptoms
used to be present at night only; pain in her nonexistent leg was accompanied by nightmares of
re-injuring her leg. In one dream, Arizona is running through the park and stops at the hospital
only to find her leg shattering. In another dream, the pain in Arizonas leg is so excruciating that
she takes a scalpel and begins to cut off her own leg. Arizona wakes up after her nightmares and
looks at her leg, acknowledging that she no longer has it anymore and the pain is nonexistent. In
episode twelve of season nine, Arizona begins to experience pain at work. Arizona was in
surgery the first time she displayed painful symptoms of phantom limb at work. Consequently,
she left the surgery because the pain was too unbearable.
After this incident, Dr. Owen Hunt (who has experience with phantom limb syndrome
patients) attempts to relieve Arizonas pain with biofeedback. Biofeedback is used to help
patients control their body functions. It helps patients focus on making subtle changes in [their]
body in order to achieve certain results like reducing pain (Mayo Clinic Staff). This process
includes attaching electrodes to the patients skin, which send signals to a monitor that displays
different bodily functions that react under stress. Because these functions are displayed,
biofeedback sessions allow for immediate feedback as patients attempt to reduce stress responses

(WebMD). Owen presents a picture of a beach to Arizona to relax her. While she rejects the idea
at first, she eventually is able to soothe her pain.
Another form of treatment Owen introduces to Arizona is mirror box therapy. The
technique requires a patient to sit with a mirror facing the remaining leg so that it appears that
there are both legs present (Helm). Mirror therapy helps trick the patients brain out of pain.
Arizona finds comfort in this technique, and continues to use it at home during her night pains.
Owen tells Arizona that one of his comrades in Iraq found that the only way to relieve his
pain was to have someone stab his prosthetic leg. During Arizonas second pain incident at work,
she asks one of her colleagues to stab her prosthetic with a scalpel. Immediately after she is
stabbed, a wave of relief overcomes her. While this form of treatment does not appear to be
widely practiced, the idea of it is clear: it makes patients realize that there cannot be pain in the
absent limb.
The depiction of phantom limb syndrome in Greys Anatomy is realistic, from the
symptoms Arizona experiences to the different treatments she tries. The only aspect of Arizonas
phantom limb syndrome that research does not support was the form of treatment involving
having someone injure her prosthetic leg. However, the reasons behind this treatment are still
realistic and relate to the reasons why other forms of treatment are successful in some cases. The
show demonstrates how phantom limb interferes with Arizona's work by causing her to leave
surgeries and disrupt surgeries in process. Thus, phantom limb consumes Arizona's life, affects
her colleagues' lives, and to a certain extent, her patients' lives.
While those disorders appear in the show later on, a more prominent disease that lasted
throughout the majority of the seasons captured viewers since season one: Alzheimers disease.
Alzheimers is an irreversible and incurable progressive neurological disease; it is
characterized by the degeneration and death of nerve cells in the brain, causing brain size to

decrease (Alzheimers Disease). The exact cause is unknown, but is likely to be caused by
genetic and environmental factors (Alzheimers Disease).
Alzheimers symptoms are grouped into three categories: cognitive deficits, behavior and
psychiatric symptoms of dementia, and difficulties with daily life (Alzheimers Disease).
Major cognitive deficits include amnesia (memory impairment), agnosia (inability to recognize
familiar people and places), and speaking difficulties. Speaking difficulties include stopping in
the middle of a conversation and struggling to find the correct words to say (Lunde). Behavior
and psychiatric symptoms include depression, wandering, and aggression. Lastly, issues with
eating, shopping, and showering are symptoms of difficulties with daily life. Alzheimers disease
is considered insidious since it begins slowly; some people are unaware of any impairment,
and since Alzheimers typically affects seniors, patients tend to blame their forgetfulness on old
age (Alzheimers Disease). These symptoms may not be consistent; Alzheimers patients may
experience moments of lucidity and rapid changes in mood (ex. being calm one moment and
irate the next) (Boerner). There are no cures for Alzheimers, but there are treatments such as
counseling, emotional and social support, and drugs that help with symptoms (Alzheimers
Disease).
Alzheimers disease affects Dr. Ellis Grey, whom is diagnosed before the show aired, so
viewers do not have the opportunity to witness her early symptoms of Alzheimers. Ellis was a
renowned surgeon; however, after being diagnosed with Alzheimers, she left work and her
daughter, Meredith Grey, sent her to a nursing home. In Elliss first appearance, Meredith visits
her at the nursing home and talks about her first day at work. Ellis does not recognize Meredith
and asks who she is and if she is the doctor. Meredith says, Im your daughter, and Im not the
doctor, but I am a doctor. Ellis, with a vacant look on her face, responds, I think I may have

been a doctor in the past. This first scene effectively introduces Elliss cognitive deficiency,
allowing viewers to recognize that Ellis is not mentally there.
Elliss symptoms visibly progress throughout the seasons up until her death. The most
salient symptoms are her cognitive deficit and behavior/psychiatric symptoms. Ellis experiences
extreme mood swings, especially those in which she is calm and suddenly becomes irate. In
episode three of season two, Ellis is brought to the hospital, strapped onto a gurney to prevent
her from physically harming others. She begins yelling at doctors and becomes even more
aggressive when she sees Meredith (she and Meredith do not have a good relationship). After
being put into a hospital room, Ellis forgets that many years have passed since she was a doctor
and continuously leaves her hospital bed because she believes she has surgeries to complete.
Eventually, while she is in an operating room, she realizes she is not supposed to be in there and
allows a doctor to take her back to her room. Ellis experiences several moments of lucidness, but
as her illness progresses, these moments occur less frequently. She also experiences issues with
speech and vocabulary. For instance, when Elliss doctor returns with the biopsy information on
a tumor in her liver, Ellis asks him, Is it algebra? two times before she accurately asks, Is it
benign?. These cognitive deficit and behavior/psychiatric symptoms are displayed consistently
throughout Elliss scenes.
Elliss cognitive deficits are the most severe around her former lover, Richard Webber,
and Dr. George OMalley, an intern who resembles her former husband. Ellis forgets that she and
Richard are no longer together and treats him as if he were still her significant other. There are no
moments of lucidity when she is with Richard -- it is apparent that she still has the same
perception towards him that she used to when they dated. Ellis constantly shows deep affection
towards him while displaying hostility towards everyone else. In addition, she believes she is still
married to her ex-husband and argues with George the way she used to argue with her husband.

She displays the greatest aggression towards him and experiences the most mood swings in his
presence. Her actions around Richard and George depict the extent of her Alzheimers most
prominently because Elliss reality is clearly set back a few years.
Greys Anatomys illustration of Alzheimers disease is true to real-life circumstances. The
show illustrates that Elliss disease not only affects her, but also the people who must cope with
her. Ellis's representation of Alzheimer's lacks symptoms of difficulties with daily life, but those
are not necessary to characterize Alzheimer's in the show.
CONCLUSION: Greys Anatomy conveys different diseases and disorders accurately in
its main characters, which allows viewers to see the harshness and difficulty of handling troubles
that are beyond each patients control. With each disease and disorder, Grey's Anatomy reinforces
the idea that the patients are not the only ones suffering. Their pain affects their personal
relationships as well as their work.
- All three characters did not exaggerate their symptoms for effect
- These representations were realistic and demonstrate the severity of the disorders/diseases
- Incorporate reasons why it was necessary to display these disorders/diseases

Phantom Limb The Gale Encyclopedia of Neurological Disorders

Traumatic Amputations The Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=88097 helm
http://abc.go.com/shows/greys-anatomy/episode-guide/season-09/912-walking-on-adream#recap
Alzheimers Disease The Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Health
http://www.apa.org/monitor/2008/11/lucidity.aspx BOERNER
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alzheimers-disease/expert-blog/warning-signsof-alzheimers/bgp-20055898 LUNDE