Mia Garret, Post-traumatic Embitterment Disorder (PTED)

Name: Mia Garret

Age: 22

Disorder: Post-traumatic Embitterment Disorder

Description of disorder: Post-traumatic embitterment disorder is a proposed disorder modeled after post-traumatic stress disorder. Some psychiatrists have propsed this a mental disorder because they believe there are some people who have become so bitter they can barely function. PTED patients do not fit the formal criteria for PTSD and can be clinically distinguished from it. A German psychiatrist has described PTED's effects on people: "Sufferers feel they have been treated unfairly by the world. It's one step more complex than anger. They're angry plus helpless." PTED may arouse or influence PTSD-affected systems differently or arouse different systems. In trauma, PTSD is caused by a physical threat to one's life; in PTED, it is hypothisized to come from a threat to one's basic belief system.

Has been at LPH for: 3 years

Medicine: Paxil (antidepressant), Anafranil (antidepressant)

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Background: Mia was a delightful little girl with delightful siblings, living in a world that seemed equally delightful-- until you looked from the inside rather than the outside. 'Cult' was never a word used in the Garret household, but 'God' and 'savior'. The Garret's weren't part of some ordinary, Christian, Bible-worshiping religion, no. They were a part of something much more heinous, something much more cult-like. Mia was raised to think of their "church" leader, Michael Alder, as God, not some mystical man in the sky. Actually, the children of Alder's Parish were not taught about the typical God at all. They all did what Michael Alder said; ate when he told them to eat, sleep when he told them to sleep, work when he told them to work, and so on. The teachings of the "church" would, to most, be considered as horrible and corrupt. Racism was openly encouraged, as was homophobia and sexism. It was a terrible place to raise a child, but the Garret's had been a part of the cult since their youth and saw nothing wrong with it. One night, someone had tipped the police off to Alder's Parish, saying there were children being held there against their will, being taught to do horrific things. In the morning, over forty squad cars had pulled up to the small town, and the officers arrested Michael Alder for being not only a false prophet, but also for scriptures the cops had found scattered throughout the Parish, detailing how the members of the cult were planning a mass suicide. The children were all sent to foster homes. Mia was sixteen when the police invaded her home, so she was old enough to know exactly what was going on. Realizing her entire life had been a lie, she became extremely destructive, to herself and others. After being sent from orphanage to orphanage, no foster parents keeping her longer than a few months, Mia became even more withdrawn and hostile. Not being able to find her a home by the time she turned eighteen, the court system that dealt with her case had other plans and also speculations as to why Mia was so destined to be unwanted. After a meeting with an LPH doctor, Mia had a place she could finally call home-- until she made a full recovery, of course. She's been at LPH ever since.

What you get to decide: Mia's overall personality (keep her background in mind), how Mia currently feels about her past and the values she was brought up with, how the medicine is helping her

Played by: Emmy Rossum