Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Lit/Comp 10
Mr. Ausman
2/24/16
stemming from Selyes proposed GAS pattern, is Adjustment Disorder. Adjustment disorder is a
mental reaction as result of unbearable trauma to a specific person. It is associated with chronic
depression or anxiety from continuous trauma.
Abrupt changes in an individuals environment or lifestyle followed by continuous application
of that change, result in some of the most severe reactions. For example, people who are
accustomed to living at home, with family or friends, in a relatively comfortable environment are far
more likely to have a more acute reaction to trauma than someone who has lived with the steady
pattern of unpleasant events their entire life. This can be seen in the case of many soldiers who,
after being moved to a violent environment instead of their accustomed relative comfortability,
experience PTSD, Adjustment Disorder, various delusions, or a variety of other psychological or
physical syndromes.
According to many psychologists, the way we react to the world around us directly stems
from experiences coming from our childhood. If a child, being raised in a positive environment, were
to experience some sort of tragedy that would be foreign to them, positive connections can be torn
down. This obstruction in development and emotion can result in problems that last a lifetime. One of
these problems is ASPD. A child after certain kinds of tragedy can lose trust and control of their
emotions. This reaction is embodied in Anti-Social Personality disorder. People suffering from the
disorder show lack of emotion, sympathy, and regard for other human rights. This can affect the child
(and other people) for the rest of their life.
Many responses to trauma can be healed. The expression, Time heals all wounds, is a
popular saying that essentially reassures no matter what kind of trauma happens, it will go away with
time. This expression is only partially correct. Many times, psychological wounds seem to go away
entirely, but just like physical wounds leave scars, so do wounds of the mind.
Chronically developed fears/phobias are one major example of this. Perhaps a young boy is
on his way to piano lessons in the car with his mother and a collision with a second vehicle happens.
This child would most likely be able to drive cars later on in his life, but he would also be sure to
drive carefully and wear his seatbelt more often than he would have if he hadnt been in his accident.
In some cases however, a child could, because of the trauma develop a severe, related aversion to
driving, vehicles, or perhaps even piano lessons!
This common response, whether ordinary or abnormal, is widely thought be a result from a
process called Classical Conditioning. In Classical Conditioning, a person makes connections to
experiences in their life to elicit responses as a result of those connections in similar situations. In
John Burtons case of the 90 year old woman, she developed a fear of being alone in her new home
which most likely stemmed from her traumatic experiences in her old home.
The human mind is a fascinating component of life. It allows us to think, theorize, invent, and
improve, but holds as well the power to destroy and to break down. Every human being on earth
goes through traumatic events and suffers responses in accordance to how their mind was innately
built and how they were conditioned and developed as a child. There are options for treatment,
however. Looking back to Burtons case, the woman was eventually convinced to take a neuroleptic
medication to help reduce her stress, manic tendencies, and hallucinations. Our office nurse and
staff called her daily to guide her through the process of taking her medicines. She slowly but
steadily improved and became stabilized. (John Burton, M.D, PTSD case study).
Psychology is defined as the scientific study of the mind and behavior. It seeks to explain
why people think and act the way they do. As with any science, studying its extremes allows for an
easier understanding of normality, and also ways to treat and heal. It is very important to examine
the abnormal responses to stress in order to further our understanding of how to help people through
and after shock and trauma.