From trauma to PTSD: Beliefs about sensations, symptoms, and mental illness

Michele Spoont; Nina A Sayer; Greta Friedemann-Sanchez; Louise E. Parker; Maureen M Nelson; Christine Chiros

doi:10.1177/1049732309348370

From trauma to PTSD: Beliefs about sensations, symptoms, and mental illness

Michele Spoont, Nina A Sayer, Greta Friedemann-Sanchez, Louise E. Parker, Maureen M Nelson, Christine Chiros

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

Despite the ongoing debate about its legitimacy as a diagnostic entity, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) continues to be the prevailing model for posttrauma suffering in Western societies. In this article, we examine how U.S. veterans came to conceptualize their posttrauma suffering as reflecting the mental disorder of PTSD. We describe the criteria veterans used to evaluate the potential clinical importance of their posttrauma reactions, and the process by which they came to label these reactions as PTSD. Difficulties that veterans experienced in evaluating their posttrauma reactions and in labeling them as PTSD mirror issues that have been raised about the diagnosis of PTSD in the professional literature.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	1456-1465
Number of pages	10
Journal	Qualitative Health Research
Volume	19
Issue number	10
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732309348370
State	Published - 2009

Keywords

Experiences
Illness and disease
Mental health and illness
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Trauma

Access

10.1177/1049732309348370

OpenUrl availability

Full text

Cite this

@article{cd7b9c5f6ea347e19dbcde92d0acde94,

title = "From trauma to PTSD: Beliefs about sensations, symptoms, and mental illness",

abstract = "Despite the ongoing debate about its legitimacy as a diagnostic entity, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) continues to be the prevailing model for posttrauma suffering in Western societies. In this article, we examine how U.S. veterans came to conceptualize their posttrauma suffering as reflecting the mental disorder of PTSD. We describe the criteria veterans used to evaluate the potential clinical importance of their posttrauma reactions, and the process by which they came to label these reactions as PTSD. Difficulties that veterans experienced in evaluating their posttrauma reactions and in labeling them as PTSD mirror issues that have been raised about the diagnosis of PTSD in the professional literature.",

keywords = "Experiences, Illness and disease, Mental health and illness, Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Trauma",

author = "Michele Spoont and Sayer, {Nina A} and Greta Friedemann-Sanchez and Parker, {Louise E.} and Nelson, {Maureen M} and Christine Chiros",

year = "2009",

doi = "10.1177/1049732309348370",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "19",

pages = "1456--1465",

journal = "Qualitative Health Research",

issn = "1049-7323",

publisher = "SAGE Publications Inc.",

number = "10",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - From trauma to PTSD

T2 - Beliefs about sensations, symptoms, and mental illness

AU - Spoont, Michele

AU - Sayer, Nina A

AU - Friedemann-Sanchez, Greta

AU - Parker, Louise E.

AU - Nelson, Maureen M

AU - Chiros, Christine

PY - 2009

Y1 - 2009

N2 - Despite the ongoing debate about its legitimacy as a diagnostic entity, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) continues to be the prevailing model for posttrauma suffering in Western societies. In this article, we examine how U.S. veterans came to conceptualize their posttrauma suffering as reflecting the mental disorder of PTSD. We describe the criteria veterans used to evaluate the potential clinical importance of their posttrauma reactions, and the process by which they came to label these reactions as PTSD. Difficulties that veterans experienced in evaluating their posttrauma reactions and in labeling them as PTSD mirror issues that have been raised about the diagnosis of PTSD in the professional literature.

AB - Despite the ongoing debate about its legitimacy as a diagnostic entity, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) continues to be the prevailing model for posttrauma suffering in Western societies. In this article, we examine how U.S. veterans came to conceptualize their posttrauma suffering as reflecting the mental disorder of PTSD. We describe the criteria veterans used to evaluate the potential clinical importance of their posttrauma reactions, and the process by which they came to label these reactions as PTSD. Difficulties that veterans experienced in evaluating their posttrauma reactions and in labeling them as PTSD mirror issues that have been raised about the diagnosis of PTSD in the professional literature.

KW - Experiences

KW - Illness and disease

KW - Mental health and illness

KW - Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

KW - Trauma

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=70350036066&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=70350036066&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1177/1049732309348370

DO - 10.1177/1049732309348370

M3 - Article

C2 - 19805807

AN - SCOPUS:70350036066

SN - 1049-7323

VL - 19

SP - 1456

EP - 1465

JO - Qualitative Health Research

JF - Qualitative Health Research

IS - 10

ER -

From trauma to PTSD: Beliefs about sensations, symptoms, and mental illness

Abstract

Keywords

Access

OpenUrl availability

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this