Introduction
Trauma is a mental disorder and almost everyone experiences the condition during their lifetime. Trauma can be defined as an emotional and psychological disorder emanating from strange experiences such as disaster, breakup, conflict, war, or any other stressful occurrences in life. Terrorist attacks, wars, and natural disasters in the areas where the child was growing up are events that focus on the physical world beyond a child’s parents’ or caregivers’ control and are examples of events that trigger trauma. Domestic violence, physical and sexual assault, neglect, mistreatment, and witnessing traumatic incidents as a child are examples of events during the child’s upbringing; they can lead to trauma. Previously, sure children may have been exposed to stressful experiences as they grew up, but they would eventually grow up normally. Others may be affected even after they have reached adulthood.
Main body
The word trauma has been derived from a Greek word that means a wound, which refers to being a psychic disorder state that comes from emotional stress, physical injury, or mental stress (Cinquegrani 33). The medical definition is either an acute injury that comes from a psychiatric point of view. Trauma refers to an individual having disruptive experiences, which lead to mental and physical effects, like when an individual experiences flashbacks, panic, nightmares, and others.
Physical development, which includes noticeable characteristics, and neurodevelopment are two distinct types of traumatic effects. However, these two categories are intertwined: Each child is born with over 100 billion neurons, far more than they will ever want and far more than they will ever have (Gellman 195). Typically, trillions of synapses develop between neurons depending on the interactions a child has as they grow in attachment to their physical surroundings and caregivers. Some of these synapses will be reinforced, while others will be removed.
Analysis of the texts refers to identity as a general term that different individuals adopt to have a meaning for their lives in terms of direction and purpose. Identity can create a blueprint for how an individual life conducts their lives. Moreover, how they are making their plans for the sake of their future. Through traumatic events, they may disrupt the plan and end up altering life decisions and sometimes in a permanent manner. For instance, in Spiegelman’s work, the horrors of the Holocaust are shown and the work observes the causes of those events (Gavrilă 67). The author managed to convey the story, without embellishing or smoothing out the details that led to a great traumatic experience for the characters. The occurrence of these horrible events has made permanent changes in people’s lives, ending up in traumatic memory. It also shows how if the situation is not handled correctly, the people will not have a survivor identity. Life goals may end up being changed after years of work and struggle have been suddenly taken away.
Moreover, when the traumatic memory has not been dealt with, it may lead to a permanent identity change. An individual ends up having a condition called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). As people suffering from the states, they have issues with their original identity. They may end up making a rampant life decisions from the pains of their former condition, and finding a cure for this condition has been a significant concern to many scientists (Smith 198). Most patients have ended up being frustrated over the years. Thus, in the documentary film by Menachem Daum Hiding and Seeking the story of a son of Jewish Holocaust survivors (Cinquegrani 45). Even though he was not a participant in those events, the trauma exerted on his family was transmitted to him. He had spent his entire life interviewing survivors about the impact of the Holocaust on their lives to sort out their problems and help others. In looking for the best treatment for this condition and making people recover to their former states.
Patients may also be hesitant to talk about the actual event, especially in the case of rape or sexual abuse. General Practitioners (GPs) often are not well trained in this type of mental illness and are not aware of treatment options. And many patients suffer from co-morbidities. One of the obstacles in treating PTSD is the high prevalence of co-morbidities. Co-morbidity is the presence of two or more chronic diseases or conditions in a patient (Smith 206). The study also found a close link between PTSD patients and substance abuse; it was found that over 30% of people who have PTSD also suffer from substance abuse (Austin 29). This shows a link between PTSD and substance abuse, as people with psychological disorders are likely to opt for substance abuse as a control strategy to the associated side effects of PTSD.
Conclusion
In summary, trauma and identity have a direct connection, where trauma can affect identity, as identity may affect an individual’s perception and understanding of the trauma. Identity can result in a testifying about the impact of trauma. To attain survivor identity, an individual’s traumatic memory must be treated appropriately, as trauma has affected many people in society as shown in the works of Menachem Daum and Art Spiegelman. The outcome is based on the intent of the events that one experienced when they were growing up. If the circumstances were more traumatizing, an individual would experience trauma even as an adult if it was not dwelt with when a person was developing. A person might end up with a condition called PTSD if the trauma was not handled in advance.
Works Cited
Austin, Hailey J. “Time Flies: Remnants of Auschwitz in Art Spiegelman’s Maus.” Colloquy: Text, Theory, Critique, vol. 33, 2017, pp. 25-38.
Cinquegrani, Maurizio. Journey to Poland: Documentary Landscapes of the Holocaust. Edinburgh University Press, 2018.
Duffy, Helena. “The Silence of the Mothers: Art Spiegelman’s Maus and Philippe Claudel’s Brodeck.” The Journal of Holocaust Research, vol. 34, no. 2, 2020, pp. 138-154.
Gavrilă, Ana-Maria. “Holocaust Representation and Graphical Strangeness in Art Spiegelman’s Maus: A Survivor’s Tale: “Funny Animals,” Constellations, and Traumatic Memory.” Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, Communicatio, vol. 4, 2017, pp. 61-75.
Gellman, Uriel, et al. “In the Eyes of Others: Hasidism in Contemporary Culture.” Hasidism, edited by David Biale et al., Princeton University Press, 2017, pp. 793-806.
Smith, Philip. “Drawing Vladek, Staging Shylock: Art Spiegelman’s Maus in American Holocaust Discourse.” Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, vol. 10, no. 2, 2019, pp. 197-209.