Trauma In The Things They Carried

Tim O’Brien’s semi-autobiographical novel, The Things They Carried, illustrates the trauma and horrors veterans face during war, especially during the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War ushered in a new era of soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, but unlike the veterans of wars before, there has been more research to help those suffering from the mental disability. O’Brien, like many veterans, uses writing as a medium to help ease the pain of the trauma he has suffered through the war.
In an article written by Lori Daniels, James Boehnlein, and Phillip McCallion about post-traumatic stress disorder, the practice of life review has shown to significantly lower post-traumatic stress disorder among aging veterans suffering from the
Although O’Brien states that the events he wrote about were not completely true, according to the studies of Lori Daniels, James Boehnlein, and Phillip McCallion, he is using a coping mechanism to treat his PTSD by writing down what had happened. One could argue that his writing could be considered a form of the life review technique, as O’Brien mentions that writing about the war helped him adjust to civilian life in one of his chapters. For example, in his chapter, “Speaking of Courage”, he follows the story of one of his comrades, Norman Bowker, who is trying to readjust to normal American life. The conflict in this story is that Bowker is struggling to talk about his traumatic experiences with people from his hometown, and no one understands what he has been through. It is later revealed that Bowker had written down his experience and sent it to O’Brien before committing suicide three years later. In the next chapter, O’Brien states that Bowker struggled greatly when readjusting to civilian life, and that if he had someone to talk to about his experiences in Vietnam or some way to express himself, he probably would have adjusted better and would not be dead. O’Brien’s many stories about his experiences in Vietnam show that the life review treatment for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder does work, as O’Brien commented on the fact that he was able to easily transition from the war to going to school at Harvard. In conclusion, life review has statistically shown to benefit sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder and allow them to grow in a healthy and positive