Is part of recovery from PTSD losing the war narrative and letting it all fragment?
Here is a note I sent recently to some friends.
Here is a note I sent recently to some friends:
At lunch this week with Paul Edgar, I began to think that "losing the narrative" is part of moving beyond PTSD.
I was moved to this thought by a short essay that Paul Yingling ran in my blog, through the good offices of Paul Edgar. In it, he says that to his surprise, with the passage of time, the less he remembered the narrative, and the more he remembered shards. I wonder if this is indeed part of the process of getting healthy again. I've noticed that I have had the same experience with Iraq -- remembering it less, and when I do, only in bits and pieces.
As I said, your thoughts welcome. I am not necessarily looking for essays to publish here, more just help understanding this thought. Feel free to tell me I am wrong. I am just interested in the intersection of PTSD and narrative, two powerful but often misunderstood subjects.
Photo credit: Richard Muck/Deutsches Bundesarchiv/Wikimedia Commons
Here is a note I sent recently to some friends:
At lunch this week with Paul Edgar, I began to think that “losing the narrative” is part of moving beyond PTSD.
I was moved to this thought by a short essay that Paul Yingling ran in my blog, through the good offices of Paul Edgar. In it, he says that to his surprise, with the passage of time, the less he remembered the narrative, and the more he remembered shards. I wonder if this is indeed part of the process of getting healthy again. I’ve noticed that I have had the same experience with Iraq — remembering it less, and when I do, only in bits and pieces.
As I said, your thoughts welcome. I am not necessarily looking for essays to publish here, more just help understanding this thought. Feel free to tell me I am wrong. I am just interested in the intersection of PTSD and narrative, two powerful but often misunderstood subjects.
Photo credit: Richard Muck/Deutsches Bundesarchiv/Wikimedia Commons
More from Foreign Policy

What Putin Got Right
The Russian president got many things wrong about invading Ukraine—but not everything.

Russia Has Already Lost in the Long Run
Even if Moscow holds onto territory, the war has wrecked its future.

China’s Belt and Road to Nowhere
Xi Jinping’s signature foreign policy is a “shadow of its former self.”

The U.S. Overreacted to the Chinese Spy Balloon. That Scares Me.
So unused to being challenged, the United States has become so filled with anxiety over China that sober responses are becoming nearly impossible.