Research

Research and writing have consumed much of my time this past week: By Friday I plan to give my advisor a rough draft of the review article I am writing about the relationship between physical injury and the development of posttraumatic stress disorder. I find the research to be very interesting but the writing process to be much less so.

Coincidently, this week the subject of my psychology seminar is combat stress reactions. Although combat stress reactions are certainly detrimental from a military standpoint, and although post-combat stress reactions can interfere negatively with a person’s functionality, I wonder to what extent such reactions are normal (verses to what extent they are actually pathological). I mean, what should be considered a normal/appropriate reaction to combat (or any other type of intensely traumatic experience)? Could it be possible that certain situations/events are so inherently psychologically traumatic that those who emerged unscathed are the ones who should be considered psychologically unsound? The more I read about the psychological effects of war and terrorism, the more thoroughly appalled I am by both, and the more respect I have for my Israeli peers who have almost universally served in the military and coped with the threat of terrorism.