Forums » RP Discussion » PTSD - Did I mess up?

Not sure if maybe I just did something that makes me a horrible person, but:

In one of my RPs, there was a military general character who suspected he was going to suffer a psychic invasion to get information out of him. (Yes, within the RP, this is a reasonable concern to have.) He was in a situation where there was literally nothing he could do to fight back until help arrives; he's buried up to his neck right now, so he can't even move.

I know that a common tactic used for this when it's reasonable for a non-psychic to have training is to think of anything else, but he didn't know how powerful this person might be (except that he'd already underestimated him), when help might actually arrive, etc. So I figured, well, he should focus on thoughts that he can't escape from and that might make a psychic regret invading. He focused in on some horrible old war memories to kinda self-trigger PTSD flashbacks. (And it's not something he's going to have an easy recovery from.)

So now, as someone who does not suffer from PTSD (I do have other issues, though), I'm wondering if what I did was actually valid, or just plain terrible and would be insensitive in anything where someone who does have PTSD might see it. I'm not overly worried about it where I did it, but if it is a mistake, I don't want to end up doing it anywhere else.

I know discussions about mental illness in RP have come up before, but there's never a clear answer, so I'm just trying to focus on this specific example.

I mean, if you RP a ptsd attack appropriately and accurately, there's basically nothing that would be wrong with it. That's what I think anyways. If you're going to RP a character that has a mental or physical condition, you need to always look up what it's effects and symptoms are so you don't look like a jack-arse. Basically, research stuff before you RP it uless you're sure you have it down pat. (that also goes for weapons such as different types of swords, complex items, and basically a whole lot more stuff.)

I agree with Draken, before you use PSTD, do your homework. Read as much as you can about it and I would also see if you can find any stories about ex military who suffer from PSTD. After all, reading about PSTD is one thing, but reading about people who actually had it is another. Then after you do your research, consider whether you feel like you can do a good job rping a PSTD attack. If you still have doubts, then don't do it, but if you feel like you can, then go for it.

One other thing you can do is save such rp for private places and only with people you trust will not be offended.

I think if both you and your opposite were comfortable with it then there's no problem, even if it wasn't a 100 percent accurate portrayal. The same way Hollywood CPR would be ineffective in real life. In the context of the story, the actions made sense. So long as no one in the RP was offended then there's no problem.

Agreed with all, including DrakonDreams.

Study.
Know What You Are Talking About.
Make Sure Your & Your Partner Are Good.

You should be golden.
Not having suffered from it, you may not be able to ever capture it 100% but as long as it works with your story & the person you are currently playing with I believe you should be golden.

Alright. I feel a little less worried about it, now. Thanks, folks.