Jude Travieso, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Name: Jude Zimmermann

Age: 24

Disorder: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Description of disorder: PTSD is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event that results in psychological trauma. The event may involve the threat of death to oneself or someone else, or to one's own or someone else's physical, sexual, or mental integrity, overwhelming the individuals ability to cope. Diagnostic symptoms for PTSD include re-experiencing the original trauma(s) through flashbacks or nightmares, avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma, and increased arousal-- such as difficulty falling or staying asleep, anger, and hypervigilance. PTSD is believed to be caused by experiencing any of a wide range of events which produces intense negative feelings of fear, helplessness, and horror. Such feelings may include, but aren't limited to, experiencing or witnessing childhood or adult phsyical, sexual, or emotional abuse; employment in occupations exposed to war or disaster; getting a diagnosis of a life-threatening disease or illness.

Has been at LPH for: Newly arriving

Medicine: Cortisol (to reduce stress), Propranolol (for anxiety and panic attacks), undergoing psychotherapy sessions

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Background: From as young as ten years old, Alyson and James Travieso can remember their youngest son, Jude, showing an intense obsession for or love of war and all things related. His favorite movies were anything that had to do with being patriotic for your country, such as Saving Private Ryan or The Thin Red Line, and for Halloween, he was always a soldier. As he got older and things changed, his interest in the army only grew stronger, something that worried his parents. Sure, they loved their country, but they didn't want to chance losing their son in battle. Regardless of their feelings on the matter, when Jude was eighteen, he enlisted. After several months of training and whatnot, Jude was sent into the heart of the action-- Iraq. For the first few months he was on call, he loved his time working, meeting the people of other countries and becoming best friends with his troop members. He sent letters home to his parents twice every week to ease their fears. In them, he'd tell Mr. and Mrs. Travieso that there was nothing to worry about; he hadn't even shot his gun yet, that's how calm everything was. He seemed to have jinxed himself. A few days after the last letter he sent was en route to his parent's home, there was a strike on his base camp from enemy soldiers. Everything went up in flames and there were screams and painful moaning coming from all around him. Grabbing his gun, Jude went out, terrified but brave, to try and help the rest of his team members. Upon approaching the outside, at the sight of his fallen comrades, Jude stood in shock at the bloodshed around him. His mind seemed to stop working. During this brief distraction, two bullets soared in Jude's direction, both entering his right shoulder. He fell to the ground in a heap. When he awoke, he was in a hospital in America, with doctors telling him that he was very lucky and had been honorably discharged from service. His parents were there and stayed there until the day he was supposed to get sent back home. That night, in his bed, he began experiencing some of the worst nightmares he'd ever had, and they even began happening in the day time too. Except, these weren't ordinary nightmares-- no, they were flashbacks, things that had actually happened to him and that he'd actually seen. After becoming very volatile and withdrawn from daily life, Alyson contacted a doctor she knew of in Maryland, with thoughts that her son may be suffering from PTSD. They'd agreed to drive Jude there and, after some talking to, Jude agreed also.

What you get to decide: Jude's overall personality (keep his background in mind), odds and ends about Jude's childhood/time spent in the service, how he's handling his PTSD now/how the medicine and therapy are working

Played by: Dylan O'Brien