Excerpt 2 is a
short self-help article aimed at those who have experienced the
trauma of a road traffic accident. The article is available on a
website that publishes self-help techniques for different
circumstances and contexts, all of which pertain to medical and
educational advice offered by a team of physicians and medical
students (Familydoctor.org, n.d).There are many forms of self-help
which most frequently focus on the individuals experience of an
event and try to promote strategies or ways in which to cope
following trying circumstances for the individual. The excerpt in
question approaches self-help in terms of empowerment. This
theory was one quickly adopted following the rise in self-help
culture for Western societies in the
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Listed symptoms
range from shock to trouble sleeping and a feeling of guilt.
Crucially, the article also points out that for some, such feelings
become overwhelming and impede on normal life. (Excerpt 2) Such a
traumatic event can be described as an extreme circumstance.
Dohrenwend (2010) offers extensive research into extreme
circumstance providing context for the extent to which an event can
be seen as traumatic and potentially life changing. By comparison
to a continuous and particularly devastating event such as a war, a
traffic incident in a peace time community falls further down
Dohrenwends hierarchy of stressful events. (Dohrenwend, Cited in
Wager, 2015). Nonetheless, the article does emphasise that only
some people experience long term effects on overall well-being and
general health following traumatic experiences. This is in line
with psychological research which aims to explore why certain
individuals might be better equipped to recover from trauma.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is observed as one of the
major long term effects following an extreme event. For
psychologists, established criteria for victims of such events are
used to diagnose PTSD. (Wager, 2015). The Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual (DSM) as a tool for diagnosis, expands on
symptoms such as recurring memories of the event and alterations in
mood. Many of these symptoms align with the symptoms listed for
PTSD as part of the self-help offered in the
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