The San Gabriel Valley Tribune recently featured Samuel Girguis, PsyD director of PsyD Program and assistant professor in the Department of Clinical Psychology, who shared his expertise on the history and impact of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). As the nation reflects on the anniversary of 9/11, Girguis' insights are ever pertinent.
The following is an excerpt from the article:
“It first came out of world wars, and so the original understanding of PTSD was all about an individual in a life-threatening situation who survives it and yet continually is triggered by reminders of it, to go back to that place and feel unsafe again,” he said. It’s more than that, though. “What is missing from the PTSD diagnosis is some of the existential elements,” Girguis said. “And so survivor guilt is this very real phenomenon that asks the question, why them and not me? Why my loved one and not me? Why that other person who had to experience it, why am I somehow left to live?”
Read the full article.
