44 The proof above shows that the traumatic events make Gayle unable to
relax. She stays alert all the time because although her father is in prison she thinks that her father is still watching her and this really threatens her.
4.3.3 Avoidance and emotional numbing
For several months after she arrives at Beech House, a psychiatric unit, her nightmares increase more and more, because Gayle feels that.
I slept badly: my nightmares were almost constant. I ate very little and lost weight and although I spoke to the staff and other kids when I needed to, I
was totally unable to talk about my mother’s death. I spent most of my time sitting alone and disconnected from those around me I and saw
absolutely no one from my previous life. And my wish to die intensified to the point that I couldn’t bear to be alive any longer. Sanders 169
She does not want to eat and loses weight. She also speaks very little and
spends most of her time sitting alone. Gayle feels desperate until she thinks of ending her life. Then Gayle finds it difficult to speak of what she feels or thinks.
She is still paralyzed by fear and she gets too nervous so that her mouth dries up and the words just will not come out. She struggles to talk, but she cannot. So she
decides to be silent and simply does what the adults tell her to do Sanders 130. Ruzek in his article Coping with PTSD and Recommended Lifestyle Changes for
PTSD Patients , states that by reducing contact with the outside world, a sufferer
may avoid many situations that cause him or her to feel afraid, irritable, or angry. However, isolation will also cause major problems. It will result in loss of social
friendships, and intimacy. It may produce further depression and fear. Here Gayle avoids everything which reminds her of the traumatic events.
So Gayle’s avoidance is showed by trying not to talk about the trauma because that will remind her about her past traumatic experiences. According to the theory
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
45 of Wilson, Nathan, O’Leary, and Clark 152 about post traumatic stress disorder,
avoidance can be indicated by some ways, and one of the ways is by trying not to talk to another about the trauma. Another way is by disconnecting from the people
who remind her of the trauma. Gayle uses both of these ways, she tries to avoid speaking to another and she does not talk about her mother’s death and she also
disconnects from the people who remind her of the past traumatic experiences.
4.4 Gayle’s ways of coping with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
