I have no idea about any 'official' psychological theory about this, but I'm pretty sure that something like this really does exist.
For example, apart from "The Hurt Locker" there are a lot of movies in which you find similar scenes and situations. Soldiers who return from a war very often have problems to just lead a 'normal' life again, which is not just a problem nowadays. It's been there after WW2 as well, but at that time nobody really talked about it. Even if it might not be exactly the same, you can have a look at the German movie "Das Wunder von Bern", where Peter Lohmeyer returns home after being a prisoner of war - and normal situations like peeling potatoes almost drive him up the wall.
So yes, I believe that Mycroft is right. When you've been used to dangerous situations for a long time, it is possible that you miss this when you return back to safety.

Thing is, I don't believe PTSD & stress-normalisation (for want of a better term) are mutually exclusive. For example, if you have seen your bestfriend get shot right next to you then you are going to experience PTSD symptoms in relation to your bestfriend and to those specific circumstances where he was shot.

But this doesn't mean that you're going to flip out in every high-stress situation that you encounter. For example: you might start shaking uncontrollably when you see a photo of your friend (the one that got shot) and be perfectly calm when a building is on fire and you're trying to run to safety because the one does not connect to the other. Building on fire = is stressful but as a soldier you're used to life & death situations so you leave the building as calmly as you can. the photo of your dead friend = is a direct trigger of the PTSD because it reminds you of the incident that started the PTSD in the first place.

Last edited by saturnR (June 22, 2014 7:33 am)

Ok, this is just speaking from personal experience but I have a theory. Doctors have diagnosed me with depression and mild PTSD after having been severely bullied in my childhood. I get very depressed and run down when I have time to myself, during holidays and times of low stress but if I am under stress and I have to work really hard, especially if I feel I have a purpose, like caring for someone else, I function really well. In my youth I once stood in front of my tormentors and was ordered, like John, to hold my hand out and prove that it wasn't shaking, and it wasn't. Yet when I got home I cried my heart out curled up in bed. So adrenaline and a feeling of purpose can, in my opinion be very calming to people who have suffered trauma in one way or another. I know my experience can't compare with having been to war and gotten shot at but I guess a simillar function may not be impossible.

Guinevere81, that is really interesting.  I can totally see how the adrenaline can almost be addictive in itself, in spite of the trauma that engendered it.  So you and John, and a lot of us, I imagine, would feel most alive and in control when under a certain amount of stress to handle something or be productive and purposeful.  That explains a lot.  Thank you.

I've been thinking about this in the context of the dream in HLV (which I hadn't seen when I last posted on this thread). 

I don't think Sherlock does offer him a safer environment.   It actually seems pretty dangerous - perhaps more so than Afghanistan (where John was a doctor).  I agree about Sherlock being the therapy he needs, though.  I suppose that, because of the army and his work, John has seen real death and danger.  A high-thrills hobby like sky-diving might be fun for him, but it's not going to fulfil that need.   Sherlock is able to provide him with real danger (sometimes even real death, awful as it is).   John acts as if he's in withdrawal without him.  He seems to need a big level of stimulation just to get to his "normal" - he actually finds it calming.  

It's obviously a problem for him after the war because he's not getting that stimulation.  With Sherlock, perhaps it's no longer pathological (well, maybe a bit, because it is a bit strange to willingly risk your life, but people do it with dangerous sports all the time, and are not seen as mentally ill).  As long as that need is met, John is his happy, normal self.

Last edited by Liberty (September 18, 2014 7:03 am)

Don't worry, you're not disagreeing .  I said that he finds it calming. 

Liberty wrote:

I know this is resurrecting an old thread, but I somehow couldn't find the last thread in which we talked about this subject!

Anyway, I thought this quote from Martin Freeman was interesting

As we know, John likes excitement and the thrill of the adventure. For as much he thinks that war is hell and he’s lived through it, as many service personnel do there’s a feeling that something is missing when they come back to peace time.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/mediapacks/sherlocks4/freeman

This is the impression I get, and it fits in with what Mycroft deduces, and Sherlock filling that gap for him.  His therapist has got it wrong.

I agree. And I am sure that

John punching Sherlock in the face

Last edited by Schmiezi (December 23, 2016 8:53 am)

That sounds like a plausible reason, SusiGo, however it - unfortunately -  doesn't quite match with

their relationship being tested to the point of almost breaking. So it seems, as Schmiezi mentions, John does it for - what he thinks - is a good reason. True anger, not just to stop hysteria.

I don't know - this is just Martin's take, but "a feeling that something is missing" doesn't seem quite the same as PTSD.   And Mycroft is convinced it's not PTSD, and I tend to go along with his deduction in this case.   This in the context that it's the writers'/actors' view of what PTSD is rather than real life, of course.

But the idea that it's behind his violence in TLD - that's interesting, and something that I hadn't really thought of.   He has just lost Mary (who he was seeing in her more exciting, dangerous role) and Sherlock (even though he's deliberately distanced himself, it's still a loss). 

Last edited by Liberty (September 28, 2017 1:49 pm)