Emotional trauma after being shot...

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  • Emotional trauma after being shot...

    I have an officer who's been shot. He eventually enacts revenge on the shooter.

    I'm researching the emotional impact of the shooting. His marriage falls apart, he looses it in the psychiatrist office etc...

    I'm familiar with the 'stockholm syndrome' but I'm looking for any cases or syndromes that may deal with 'becoming' the shooter, slowly degenerating into the likeness of the person who shot him, if that makes sense. Also, any instances of revenge and the slow psychosis of this 'need to destry him' at any cost.

    Any links, info or simalar scripts you can offer would be appreciated.

    Regards.
    -a

  • #2
    Ptsd

    What your "officer character" has is called PTSD; Post Tramatic Stress Disorder. PTSD is a common issue with law enforcement, public safety and military service members. I'd look online to learn more about PTSD. For police related issues check; www.officer.com www.iacp.org www.fletc.gov www.copsnwriters.com www.aslet.org . I'd also research the mental health and military websites about PTSD signs/treatment.

    Beefy

    I'd rather get bank credit, than screen credit.

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    • #3
      Re: Emotional trauma after being shot...

      DEER HUNTER has the cool disturbing Chris Walken character who's so traumatized he plays russian roulette, that always stuck with me. I know a Viet Nam vet guy who says he still feels the deep-buried stirrings of panic when he hears a helicopter (hospital choppers etc) even after, what, 35 years? Perfectly fearless guy, but still has that sound buried in his head. On the flip side, doesn't FEARLESS have a character who feels he's invincible now, after surviving a jet aircrash? So maybe you can take it in a couplah directions?
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      • #4
        Re: Emotional trauma after being shot...

        What's that western, where the guys being flushed out of a cornfield... he's shot, bleeding to death, knows he's going to die so rubs dirt into the wound to staunch the bleeding so he can last the gunfight? That was cool.
        The Complete IfilmPro DEVELOPMENT FORUM (PDF)

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        • #5
          Re: Emotional trauma after being shot...

          Originally posted by alveraz
          I have an officer who's been shot. He eventually enacts revenge on the shooter.

          I'm researching the emotional impact of the shooting. His marriage falls apart, he looses it in the psychiatrist office etc...
          As Beefy pointed out, he'd most likely suffer from PTSD.

          I'm familiar with the 'stockholm syndrome'
          That doesn't really seem to have anything to do with your character's situation.

          but I'm looking for any cases or syndromes that may deal with 'becoming' the shooter, slowly degenerating into the likeness of the person who shot him, if that makes sense.
          I'm not familiar with any specific type of syndrome that would fit what you're describing but, admittedly, forensic psych isn't my research specialty. Sounds like you could create a very believable situation like this in your character without having to label it as some sort of "syndrome." A real-world syndrome like this likely doesn't exist, so you could always make one up.

          Besides, revenge isn't a "disorder" or "syndrome." It's a reaction.
          Also, any instances of revenge and the slow psychosis of this 'need to destry him' at any cost.
          Well, it pretty much just sounds like his desire for revenge has become obsessional. Sociopaths are generally the people who most often exhibit such obsessional fixation (at least, those are the ones who are the subject of forensic psych research), and they oftentimes (criminally) end the fixation by "purging the obsession" (i.e. killing the person). However, it doesn't sound like your character is a sociopath at all. I was just mentioning it for the sake of example.

          In the case of your character, it would seem that he is suffering from what's known as "reactive obsession" activated by his PTSD. This would more than likely cause the PTSD to become chronic, which would cause a significant post-morbid personality change (i.e. the cop's personality would be permanently, and likely negatively, altered after the traumatic experience - in his case, the shooting). This personality change would likely foster/exacerbate the "reactive obsession" which would grow into revenge motivated homicidal ideation ("purging the obsession" by killing the shooter).

          However, I doubt that there is any specific type of syndrome which this situation describes. Not everything abnormal has a specific label/category/diagnosis.

          You're a writer, come up with some name that sounds believable, yet is total fictional crap (like the "Helsinki Syndrome" from Die Hard).

          HTH
          "Tact's just 'not saying true stuff.' " - Cordelia Chase

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          • #6
            Re: Emotional trauma after being shot...

            My cousin was once a cop. His partner was shot and the people in the
            surrounding buildings yelled out to the shooter: Kill him, kill him -- meaning,
            kill the cop still standing. My cousin's marriage failed and he's as jaded as
            you can imagine.

            He can find no good thing in mankind.

            Charli

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            • #7
              Re: Emotional trauma after being shot...

              Originally posted by Charli
              My cousin was once a cop. His partner was shot and the people in the
              surrounding buildings yelled out to the shooter: Kill him, kill him -- meaning,
              kill the cop still standing. My cousin's marriage failed and he's as jaded as
              you can imagine.

              He can find no good thing in mankind.

              Charli
              That's disgusting. Where was this located by the way, in an apartment block housing murderers or something? I have never heard of a story where people would chant death upon a (seemingly innocent) police officer.

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              • #8
                Re: Emotional trauma after being shot...

                Apartment building in the bad part of Dallas. They chanted alright. It was
                pure evil.

                Charli

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                • #9
                  police shooting incidents/PTSD/crowds

                  To see the post about people yelling "kill em" at a police officer in a "bad" part of a major urban area does not really shock me. I did my last grand jury duty(all high profile homicides) two weeks ago and our group had a case where a drug dealer walked out of his house shot a guy several times in the backyard of the property, then went back inside! No one around the shooting called 911 and no law enforcement/EMS came to the scene for several hours.

                  Many LEOs(law enforcement officers) think the general public does not understand them or why they act they way they do. I think LEOs need to seperate their feelings from the criminal elements and regular citizens. It's hard but an important part of the law enforcement job.

                  Beefy
                  I'd rather get bank credit, than screen credit.

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