shellshocked: An exploration of the intergenerational transference of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), through the methodology of creative writing

Utilising the expressive methodology of creative writing, 'shellshocked' explores the intergenerational impact, the multiple perspectives, polyphony and diverse presentations of those suffering post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The disabling symptoms of PTSD result from bearing witness to death, torture, or human suffering due to disasters, both natural and human-made. It is estimated over 266 million people suffer PTSD globally (World Health Organisation 2013), with recent scientific research revealing the impact of trauma affects the structure of our DNA, creating biophysical changes in the progeny of those exposed (Yehuda et al. 2014; Pembrey, Saffery & Bygren 2014; Wolynn 2016). Written in a minimalist literary style, shellshocked is designed to replicate the paralysing shock and bio-psychosocial fragmentation experienced by those suffering with PTSD. The artefact is presented as a multimodal explosion of petit récits, vignette, poetry and short story to demonstrate the multiple realities, perspectives, landscapes, narratives and incongruous experiences that manifest within the debilitating symptoms of PTSD. Interwoven throughout the artefact is the motif of recipe, implanted to impose the silenced presence of women, and create a mnemonic connection to the usual domain of PTSD-within the home. War-time newspaper articles and ephemera further extend the counter-narrative to inject the sensation of cognitive dissonance into the reader, such as is experienced by PTSD sufferers; also to depict a broader reflection on how society views 'others' suffering, the personal isolation of mental illnesses, and the agency of media. The intentional inclusion of silence, space and pausation throughout the manuscript represents the unspeakable, the mute, the state of verbal paralysis so often witnessed in those triggered by trauma (van der Kolk 1996; 2006). This unconventional exploration of the plethora of PTSD manifestations through creative writing, the author's lived experience, and her art, investigates the expressive methodology's role in the facilitation of post-traumatic growth (PTG), as this research embraces a range of Method Writing and literary techniques to explore the intergenerational nature of trauma and perpetuation of family violence.