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Absolutely. That doesn't mean it's something that we should make light of though... This past fall a friend and colleague suffering from PTSD took his own life

Absolutely. That doesn't mean it's something that we should make light of though... This past fall a friend and colleague suffering from PTSD took his own life with a gun... You can see why I feel the joke is in poor taste.

brudgers 10y ago
I think maybe we all experience PTSD to some degree or another. In 1998, my beloved and I did a video tape life review with her grandpa Fred. We turned on the camcorder, she said 'tell us about yourself,' and the first thing Grandpa Fred said was, 'My mother died when I was twelve and after that there was no picnic'. He was 86 at the time and it had been 74 years. He'd buried a wife and a son and the trauma of loss was still a life changing event. From time to time, I still grieve my friend who died in 1983. My condolences on your loss and grief.
- tptacek 10y ago
  Just in case this is helpful: PTSD isn't simply the painful experience of trauma, which, you're right, most of us experience. PTSD is a reaction to trauma that is so intense it distorts cognition and triggers physical symptoms. The disruption of thought processes, even in moderate cases, can be so significant it's experienced as something like catatonia, or as a manic fight-or-flight response that can lead to suicidality. It's a condition you want to take very seriously. (Not that you weren't!)
  - john_other_john 10y ago
    try passing out walking down street impromptu you're not even close to the reality of it, you might or might not even be aware of how heavily knocked you are, and it cold go on doe months or years ... "coming to" mid crossing a six lane street narrowly missed by a vehicle... how did you get there? will you reenber the incident two minutes later? or ever? vr immersion and opiods play vital roles in creating non traumatised memory paths in your brain, and since opiods can be substituted for vr immersion for pain relief in multi amputees, to a considerable degree, that link is worth checking too.
ellyagg 10y ago
We're all going to die. The inability to make light of death seems like a refusal to acknowledge this fact. One perfectly valid perspective is that, when facing the impermanence of everything, nothing is off the table for poking fun at. Most of us have experienced tragedy and some of us can still laugh at it. That doesn't mean we shouldn't ever be serious, but I'm not convinced that our collective sense of humor should be modulated down to the least tolerant and most sensitive among us.
- dang 10y ago
  You're right in general, of course, but you're talking to someone who just told us he recently lost a loved one in a traumatic manner. Responding to a specific pain with a general argument doesn't help, and being right makes it worse.
- JshWright 10y ago
  I am well acquainted with death. It is an occupational hazard of working on an ambulance. It is that very familiarity that puts first responders at a very high risk for PTSD (like the friend I mentioned above). Dark humor is favorite pastime of folks working in fire/EMS/law enforcement. We are _very_ good at laughing at things that would probably be shocking to many. There is, however, a time and place for that. Making light of something like PTSD is not especially helpful to anyone.

brudgers 10y ago

I think maybe we all experience PTSD to some degree or another. In 1998, my beloved and I did a video tape life review with her grandpa Fred. We turned on the camcorder, she said 'tell us about yourself,' and the first thing Grandpa Fred said was, 'My mother died when I was twelve and after that there was no picnic'. He was 86 at the time and it had been 74 years. He'd buried a wife and a son and the trauma of loss was still a life changing event. From time to time, I still grieve my friend who died in 1983. My condolences on your loss and grief.

tptacek 10y ago
Just in case this is helpful: PTSD isn't simply the painful experience of trauma, which, you're right, most of us experience. PTSD is a reaction to trauma that is so intense it distorts cognition and triggers physical symptoms. The disruption of thought processes, even in moderate cases, can be so significant it's experienced as something like catatonia, or as a manic fight-or-flight response that can lead to suicidality. It's a condition you want to take very seriously. (Not that you weren't!)
- john_other_john 10y ago
  try passing out walking down street impromptu you're not even close to the reality of it, you might or might not even be aware of how heavily knocked you are, and it cold go on doe months or years ... "coming to" mid crossing a six lane street narrowly missed by a vehicle... how did you get there? will you reenber the incident two minutes later? or ever? vr immersion and opiods play vital roles in creating non traumatised memory paths in your brain, and since opiods can be substituted for vr immersion for pain relief in multi amputees, to a considerable degree, that link is worth checking too.

ellyagg 10y ago

We're all going to die. The inability to make light of death seems like a refusal to acknowledge this fact. One perfectly valid perspective is that, when facing the impermanence of everything, nothing is off the table for poking fun at. Most of us have experienced tragedy and some of us can still laugh at it. That doesn't mean we shouldn't ever be serious, but I'm not convinced that our collective sense of humor should be modulated down to the least tolerant and most sensitive among us.

dang 10y ago
You're right in general, of course, but you're talking to someone who just told us he recently lost a loved one in a traumatic manner. Responding to a specific pain with a general argument doesn't help, and being right makes it worse.
JshWright 10y ago
I am well acquainted with death. It is an occupational hazard of working on an ambulance. It is that very familiarity that puts first responders at a very high risk for PTSD (like the friend I mentioned above). Dark humor is favorite pastime of folks working in fire/EMS/law enforcement. We are _very_ good at laughing at things that would probably be shocking to many. There is, however, a time and place for that. Making light of something like PTSD is not especially helpful to anyone.