Elizabeth Barrette (ysabetwordsmith) wrote,
Elizabeth Barrette
ysabetwordsmith
  • Mood: busy

PTSD is like ...

 ... piloting a BattleMech.  This is a brilliant metaphor that will make sense to many gamers.  Remember that once the systems have overheated, it takes time  to cool down to a functional level again.  This is useful if you or someone you know has PTSD or any related condition.
Tags: gaming, linguistics, networking, reading, safety
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  • 3 comments
lady_ravenlocke

lady_ravenlocke

September 19 2014, 03:46:36 UTC 6 years ago

That is a really brilliant way to explain it! Thank you for sharing this, I'm hoping it'll make it easier for me to talk to some of my friends about my issues like this.
ysabetwordsmith

Yes...

ysabetwordsmith

September 19 2014, 03:51:25 UTC 6 years ago

It's not often that I see a new metaphor this robust and useful. When I do, I like to spread the word.

Notice that this could be turned into a tactile metaphor very easily, if you had a device that would generate heat to annoying-but-safe levels ... or electricity for that matter, I know folks with that kind of equipment. Here, hold this and I'll show you what it's like to have PTSD. Very educational.

Deleted comment

ysabetwordsmith

Well...

ysabetwordsmith

September 19 2014, 07:15:22 UTC 6 years ago

>> The one place it falls apart for me as written is the triggering, because in BattleTech, having someone else's actions substantially raise your heat value is very rare, and having them do it without putting their own heat value through the roof even more so. <<

Think of it like this ...

* In BattleTech, someone makes a threatening move.
* You shoot at them.
* This raises your temperature.

* In PTSD, someone says or does something, or something happens in the environment, which makes you feel threatened. (You may or may not actually be in physical or psychological danger.)
* You deploy coping skills to deal with this. (They may be positive or negative, depending how far along in the healing process you are, but they all use energy in an attempt to keep yourself alive/safe.)
* This raises your temperature.