Last blog I talked about PTSD, which is sometimes caused by Survivor's Guilt.
According to Google, the definition of survivor's guilt is a condition of persistent mental and emotional stress experienced by someone who survived an event where others died. In short, one might feel guilty about surviving. For example, a bombing may take place and one of the few survivors may suffer from this condition. It is often connected with grieving someone's death.
Not surprisingly, it has some of the same symptoms as PTSD and contributes to PTSD. Symptoms include flashbacks, irritability, difficulty sleeping, feeling numb or disconnected, being unmotivated, feeling helpless, fear, physical distress (headaches, heart issues, stomach issues), and suicidal feelings.
Curiously, it is often spotted through exploring dreams. Dream journals are a good source of coping. People who have depression and low self-esteem, especially past victims of childhood abuse, are more likely to get this. It is a normal response to a sudden death of a loved one. Coping with it takes patience, taking care of yourself physically and emotionally, and possibly seeking professional help.
One of the characters my fellow writer and I have created has this issue because her lover was killed in a sudden bombing. She felt that is she could convince him to stay with her instead of entering the bunkhouse he would have survived. She dreams that she's convincing her lover to stay with her. This is an excellent example of survivor's guilt.
Fellow writers, when you are writing PTSD situations survivor's guilt could potentially be involved, not every time, but some of the time. In the case of the character my fellow writer and I created, it is only one source of her PTSD. The rest of it is caused by the war.
Happy writing and I hope you had a great memorial day! As always, comment what you want me to write about.
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