Portrayal of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in '13 Reasons Why'

According to the Abnormal Psychology textbook the “DSM-5 describes the setting event for PTSD is exposure to traumatic event which an individual experiences or witnesses death or threatened death, actual or threatened serious injury, or actual or threatened sexual violation” Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a type of anxiety disorder that can impact anyone. It is a very common disorder. According to the U.S Department of veteran affairs 15%-43% of children and teen girls go through a trauma and 3%-15% of those trauma survivors develop PTSD and 14%-43% of children and teen boys go through a trauma and 1%-6% of them develop PTSD. Traumas don't necessarily have to happen directly to the person, but to someone they love and they can still develop PTSD. according to the Brain and Behaviour Research Foundation some of the symptoms are nightmares, flashbacks, avoiding places that remind them of the event, feeling numb, feeling guilty, losing interest in things, being easily scared and trouble sleeping. Everyone with PTSD can experience different symptoms depending on their trauma.

Clay Jensen's Struggles With PTSD in the Series '13 Reasons Why'

Clay Jensen from 13 Reasons Why portrays a teenager that has post traumatic stress disorder. Clay Jensen is a teenager that attends liberty high school. Prior to the trauma he had depression and anxiety as mentioned in season one episode 2. One of clays closest friends hannah baker commited suicide prior to the show starting. Clay is a quiet kid, prior to Hannah he was always in the background just minding his own business. Before Hannah commited suicide she left tapes with the 13 reasons why she did what she did. Each tape was dedicated to a person, including clay. Some of clays symptoms include hallucinations, losing sleep, flashbacks, feeling numb and suicidal thoughts.

After Hannah recorded the tapes she gave them to her friend tony to pass around the tapes in order. So that everyone that was a “reason” knew they were a reason. The series starts off with clay getting the tapes in the mail. When clay is first given the tapes he is confused, as he does not recall anything he could have done to make her do what she did. When clay first got the tapes he only listened to about 30 seconds and then he was so freaked out he couldn't listen till the end of the episode. As he is listening you see him start to fall into this pit. He goes through stages, at first he is sad, then mad at the people on the tapes, then mad at hannah and then mad at himself. As he is listening to these tapes the show is showing flashbacks of what happened. It's kind of showing that as he is listening he is reliving every feeling she felt in the moment. The first kind of “hallucination” we see is at the end of episode one where clay is in school and he sees Hannah standing at the end of the hallway. We start to see that clay is losing sleep because they start off the first episode with clay not even realizing it is morning. He stays up all night to listen to the first tape. As clay gets into the second tape he starts to get angry. Justin Foley is the second tape, he sexually assaulted Hannah. Justin plays a big role in Clays life as he is one of the kids that grew up bullying him. As time goes on Clay starts to obsess over these tapes. He believes he could have done something to save her. He then starts to act out of character and seeks revenge on the people listed on the tapes. When clay gets to his tape, he finds it the hardest to hear. He actually didn't do anything wrong but hannah says she couldn't record the tapes without mentioning him. Hannah says “Clay, Helmet, your name does not belong on this list but you need to be here if im going to tell my story”. While he is listening to his tape he starts contemplating suicide. He is with tony in tony's car and they are on a cliff. He stands on the edge but tony talks him down. In the second season clay also contemplated suicide. When he went to the house of Bryce Walker,the kid who raped Hannah, he brought a gun. When Justin finds him outside with the gun he tells him to leave and clay then turns the gun on himself but then puts it down. The hallucinations also get worse in season 2. He feels as though hannah is following him everywhere. Clay Jensen shows almost all of the criteria needed to be diagnosed with PTSD.

The Impact of Traumatic Events and Potential Therapeutic Approaches

There are many traumatic events that cause PTSD other than what Clay experienced. Any traumatic event like abuse, bullying, losing a parent or even being a war veteran. According to the abnormal psychology textbook developing PTSD may be somewhat biological. There is really no other explanation as to why some people develop PTSD and some don't. It must be a biological thing just like some other disorders. According to the abnormal psychology textbook “clinicians agree that victims of PTSD should face their original trauma”. So one form of treatment would be to face the traumatic incident head on. I think that would be the most efficient treatment because it might help them get understanding to what happened to them. It might help them finally overcome what happened to them and realize they are stronger than they think. Also therapy might help because if you talk it out you might also get an understanding of it or maybe not an understanding but just venting it out and getting it off your chest. You can take medication to help with the “side effects” of PTSD but there is no medicine that directly help PTSD. How long ptsd lasts is up to a lot of factors like how bad the trauma was and how you treat it. Like any disorder if you don't treat it, it obviously is not going to go away. If the person with PTSD goes to therapy and sticks to it, it might help. According to the Journal of Pakistan Psychiatric Society “PE and CBT can significantly improve the PTSD prognosis in victims. PE stands for prolonged exposure therapy and CBT stands for cognitive behavior therapy. PTSD is a lifelong disorder, it can be managed but the person will most likely have it for the rest of their lives.

Clay Jensen might have forgiven Hannah and moved on but he will forever be dealing with the aftermath of hannah. Season 3 of 13 Reasons Why proves that. In season 2 he forgave Hannah and thought he was done with Hannah but in season 3 the tapes were still affecting people's lives. The tapes were a blessing and a curse because clay got a group of friends that went through almost the same thing he went through so at least he is not alone. The people on the tapes were not friends before the tape but after the tapes they are like family. Justins came from an abusive family so Clays family adopted him. So even though Clay has been through hard times he has also had some good. But for a little he forgets all the good and just focuses on the bad. At the end of the show it shows him starting to focus on the positives more and i think that was helping him overcome his PTSD thoughts.  

Reference List

1. Fienberg, Daniel. 'TV Review: '13 Reasons Why' on Netflix.' Publication: The Hollywood Reporter, March 30, 2017. URL: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/13-reasons-why-review-991699

2. Sepinwall, Alan. 'Review: '13 Reasons Why' Is a Well-Acted But Troubling Tale of Teen Suicide.' Publication: Uproxx, March 31, 2017. URL: https://uproxx.com/sepinwall/13-reasons-why-review-netflix/

3. Sousa, Christopher J., et al. 'Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms and Risky Behaviors Among Suicidal Adolescents: A Longitudinal Study.' Publication: Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, vol. 47, no. 2, 2018, pp. 293-304. URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2016.1271787

4. Rice, Kathryn G., et al. 'Associations Between Anxiety, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and the HPA Axis in Early Pregnancy: The Impact of Childhood Trauma.' Publication: Journal of Psychiatric Research, vol. 103, 2018, pp. 98-105. URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2018.05.016

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5. Maunder, Richard, et al. 'Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in a General Hospital Setting: A Prevalence Study.' Publication: General Hospital Psychiatry, vol. 28, no. 5, 2006, pp. 353-359. URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2006.05.001