Writing Help Regarding Trauma

[NiQuinn]

A character of mine gets kidnapped, abused (not sexually), and drugged. The problem is, I don't know quite how to go about giving her traumas after getting rescued from something like that. I've been thinking of giving her certain fears but it's not working well. Doesn't seem very realistic or organic. Does anybody have any tips or know of where I can read about how to write trauma for a character?

 

[Kotohood]

Well, I'm not a psychological expert, but if you are drugged then there should be a sort of withdrawal symptom. A whack in hormones maybe

Then maybe depending on the trauma, you might have the character shiver in fear in a recognizable sound or visual cue. Like if she keeps hearing water droplets during her toture, the brain can associate her fear with that.

Not everyone goes through insane trauma. Some people can live relatively normally with a small shift in personality. Like an outgoing person being less sociable or less prone to going outside and dangerous places. It doesn't have to be a full blown mental breakdown, just hesitation or stage fright.

Then there is repressed memories. Though I don't know much about those things, but it does happens from time to time anong the stories I've read.

Or...You could try a physical trauma maybe and have the character cope with that instead?


Either way, good luck on your endeavours.

 

[TLCsDestiny]

Place yourself in their shoes?
How would you feel?

 

[BenJepheneT]

Her trauma would definitely lead her to distrust, especially towards people who exhibit similar traits with her captors. (e.g: male, dressed dark, tall, facial hair, etc.).

She'd start looking over her shoulders on a daily basis. She'd confine herself to the shadows, as so she can stay hidden and unnoticed, lowering her chances for being targeted.

Nightmares, coping mechanisms (clicking tongue, biting fingernails), aggressive defensive talk (I'll call the cops on you) are decent examples for showing trauma.

But here's a better example:

Place yourself in their shoes?
How would you feel?

Imagination only take you so far. Envisioning yourself in that character's shoes is not the best but easily the most effective. If not, then you can find forums or ask around on Reddit.

 

[NiQuinn]

coping mechanisms (clicking tongue, biting fingernails)

Oooh phsyical ticks. Never even thought of that.

Place yourself in their shoes?
How would you feel?

I did. It's not helping.

 

[BenJepheneT]

I did. It's not helping.

Okay. I got an idea but you might not like it.

NTR hentai. Somewhere along the lines of 177013. They are not realistic and certainly doesn't represent any actual trauma but they can give inspirations. Looking down at the balcony to end yourself and get rid of the memories. Shouting at yourself for letting this happen. Even selling yourself to prostitutions so that you can numb yourself from the feeling.

It's unhealthy, but if you want a fast route it's there.

 

[Scribbler]

Have them go through the five stages of loss (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance), but be stuck on one of them because of some plot or character reason.

Examples:

• She can't accept what just happened so she's not responding to ANY stimuli.
• She hates all men because a group of men attacked her. Or she isn't able to speak or stay in the same room alone with a man.
• She tries to find a reason why it all happened to make some sort of peace but isn't able to. (this could be her arc)
• She's just sad all the time
• Going through the experience has changed her forever in a positive way that makes her more wise and thoughtful of others. Or something, her character grew from the experience in some way.

And you don't have to follow it exactly, think of it more like guidelines.

I was going to say, "imagine what it would be like." But I think this sort of explanation or guide will be more useful for you. I also appreciate structure at times, instead of just a general direction.

 

[NiQuinn]

Place yourself in their shoes?
How would you feel?

I'm gonna have a try at this again. I'm tactile by nature so maybe I need to physically see my thoughts written out on paper for it to make sense.

 

[Scribbler]

I'm gonna have a try at this again. I'm tactile by nature so maybe I need to physically see my thoughts written out on paper for it to make sense.

Also, the ease at which she goes through and processes the stages depends greatly on the character and her surroundings, I.E., family and friends.

 

[Amae]

Therapist + writer here

Trauma is a response to an event. Not the event itself.

You might have heard of PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder), which is common amongst veterans (but keep in mind - not all veterans experience PTSD). A lot of time those symptoms can include hypervigilance, insomnia, nightmare, loss of interest in daily activities and/or isolation. There are also triggers that might "bring them back" to the event. Examples of trauma can be big like Hurricane Katrina (T) or small like watching a parent fight (t).

When someone experiences trauma, there is a separation. A disconnect (they can be dissociated = emotions brain separate from the logical brain). Remember that it's someone's response to an event. Not all stressful event leads to trauma.

Moving forward with your story, you should identify what happened exactly. What are your MC's responses. Then think about impact of the trauma. And the consequences (aftermath) of living through that event. Think how it plays out psychologically. Emotionally. Physically. Interpersonally. Financially. Spiritually. All the lys. How does the MC recover from trauma? How does it affect relationship? How does it affect self-esteem? Well-being? Body image? Trust with others? School? Work? How is the MC recovering and what are the obstacles they are facing?

As writers, you are essentially a "mini-therapist", really diving into the MC's psyche and ultimately, writing the story on how they keep moving forward.

 

[Arexio]

What Amae said. I was also going to bring up PTSD or its less serious cousin, Acute Stress Disorder.

Let me know if you want more medical details. Good luck.

 

[NiQuinn]

Therapist + writer here

Glorious. You're like my favorite cookies raining down from heaven.

Thanks for listing down all those things I can think about to help me contemplate about said trauma(s). I'm not planning to give her a lot. Just a few that could help reflect what she went through. My problem was that I might have been thinking too broad. Your questions have helped in zeroing on what I might be missing.

Thanks a lot

 

[NiQuinn]

Legit people with medical experience replying ❤

Here's a cookie for you (coz I love cookies)

@Amae @Arexio

 

[PrincessFelicie]

Important to note PTSD is not the only mental disorder that can arise from trauma. There are many less known (or rather more drenched in pop-culture misinformation) ones such as DID (or in layman’s terms, multiple personalities/identities sharing the same body).*
Symptoms of that one can include:
Developing a personality whose entire role is process the trauma while protecting the other system members from it by locking away the memories of it
Developing a “protector” personality who will jump in and lash out at anything causing another system member distress
Obtain a “photocopy” personality, either a snapshot of the MC’s personality from before the trauma who never mentally ages nor evolves past that point, or a copy of the personality of someone else that makes the MC feel safe (including even possibly a fictional character!)
Etc etc.

Most importantly, if you want to write a character with trauma but you don’t have your own to model it off of, research, research, research. Talk to people with that trauma and ask them how it’s like. What changed about them, what new challenges they face in their daily life. Read stories and fanfics that were already written by people with trauma.

*nb: not all cases of plurality are DID. Some cases of plurality do not cause the person(s) distress and therefore does not qualify as a disorder. Some cases of plurality are not traumagenic (=born from trauma). This was just a very short introduction to the concept focusing on one specific way it can manifest. If that sounds interesting and the way you want to go with this, go back to my advice about doing research and asking people with plurality.

 

[NiQuinn]

Important to note PTSD is not the only mental disorder that can arise from trauma. There are many less known (or rather more drenched in pop-culture misinformation) ones such as DID (or in layman’s terms, multiple personalities/identities sharing the same body).*
Symptoms of that one can include:
Developing a personality whose entire role is process the trauma while protecting the other system members from it by locking away the memories of it
Developing a “protector” personality who will jump in and lash out at anything causing another system member distress
Obtain a “photocopy” personality, either a snapshot of the MC’s personality from before the trauma who never mentally ages nor evolves past that point, or a copy of the personality of someone else that makes the MC feel safe (including even possibly a fictional character!)
Etc etc.

Most importantly, if you want to write a character with trauma but you don’t have your own to model it off of, research, research, research. Talk to people with that trauma and ask them how it’s like. What changed about them, what new challenges they face in their daily life. Read stories and fanfics that were already written by people with trauma.

*nb: not all cases of plurality are DID. Some cases of plurality do not cause the person(s) distress and therefore does not qualify as a disorder. Some cases of plurality are not traumagenic (=born from trauma). This was just a very short introduction to the concept focusing on one specific way it can manifest. If that sounds interesting and the way you want to go with this, go back to my advice about doing research and asking people with plurality.

I had no plans whatsoever to have DID anywhere near my story. That's another rabbit hole I'm not planning to even touch anytime soon.

 

[PrincessFelicie]

That's fair. I was only giving another possible example - the core of my advice remains "do your research".

 

[Yorth]

for this type of thing, research is your friend. And by research, I mean a heck lot of it. Once your view reach a comfortable degree of nuance, only then should you proceed.

 

[2501]

Some things I can think of:

• Avoiding eye contact and/or physical contact
• rapid breathing
• Insomnia
• Nightmares
• Flashbacks
• Social withdrawal
• Hypervigilance
• Paranoia (?)
• scratching arms (maybe until bleeding)
• or things like obsessional washing

Maybe these will help too

Acute stress disorder - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Psychology of torture - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Psychological trauma - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Assurbanipal_II]

People forget aggressiveness. Trauma can also cause an adverse reaction and reinforce combative behaviour as some sort of natural protection mechanism.

 

[Arexio]

Legit people with medical experience replying ❤

Here's a cookie for you (coz I love cookies)

@Amae @Arexio

Thanks! I love cookies!

Here's the DSM-5 criteria on PTSD in case you need it for inspiration:

(P.S. It's from my textbook; don't tell them I screen-grabbed it. )