Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is defined as a “disorder resulting from the exposure to a traumatic event that threatens the self or others with death or serious injury” (Barnett & Conway, 2012). Individuals with PTSD will usually have symptoms in four areas: intrusion, numbing, avoidance, and arousal (Barnett & Conway, 2012). The individual may feel impulsivity, aggression, alcohol/drug use, and dissociations as a result of the disease. This paper will summarize how the movie, “Perks of Being a Wallflower,” depicts the life of Charlie, a teenager who suffers from PTSD. Post-traumatic stress disorder can stem from any traumatic event such as, sexual abuse, witnessing violence, critical life-threatening illnesses. PTSD is characterized …show more content…
He finds out that Sam was sexually abused as a child, too. She says that “she used to sleep with guys who treated her [poorly] and got wasted all the time, now she feels like she can do good things like get into a good college.” Charlie makes a connection with Sam and sees her as his “light.” As Charlie hangs out with his friends more, he goes to more parties and experiments with drugs and alcohol. One night, Charlie is shunned from the group because he expresses his feelings for Sam and things begin to go downhill. He starts getting more flashbacks and becomes restless. One day at school, Charlie’s friend was getting beat up, so he helped defend his friend, but when asked about what happened, Charlie states, that “he blacked out and can’t remember …show more content…
The film showed Charlie briefly speaking to the psychiatrist and having his family visit him in the hospital. Shortly after, he was discharged, returned home, and lived happily ever after. This film conveys the message that these illnesses are easy to treat with a little one-on-one session with the psychiatrist. The film failed to convey that many people struggle with treatment and that relapses frequently