Odyssey
The Odyssey is one of the most famous narrations from the mythological Greek universe that talks about Odysseus’ homecoming from the battle of Troy. A lot of predicaments and things happens to Odysseus when he left his home and family Penelope his wife and his son Telemachus at Ithaca Island. From the story of Odyssey, we encounter a lot of survivors from the war that are affected by the war. According to Homer, most families from the fallen soldiers due to their contribution from either side of the war or any other reason. Odysseus in the narration underwent a lot of difficult time from Troy and on his way back home that took him about 20 years. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the effects that Odysseus and other characters in Homer’s narration went through that faced the Trojan war amongst other hardships on their way back at home. PTSD is a mental health condition triggered by terrifying events by experiencing or witnessing it, the symptoms include severe anxiety, flashbacks, nightmares amongst others. Odysseus in the Odyssey story by Homer goes through many struggles and difficult times and witnessed a lot of terrific events during his discord.
There are various encounters by Odysseus that Homer subjects the readers to comprehend on the several death trolls, war, the gods and witches that Odysseus went through to back home to his family. Portrayed as a hero in Troy after defeating the Trojan on their home soil by advising King Agamemnon not to withdraw from the war, and built a Trojan Horse to deceive the Trojan soldiers, and convincing the mighty Achilles to join the war. After the war, the epic Odyssey of Odysseus on his way back to Ithaca where the storms led Odysseus to the Island of Cyclops Polyphemus. In Cyclops, a lot of Odysseus’ people were killed and eaten by Polyphemus. Through Odysseus cunning and intelligent nature, he tricks Polyphemus and blinded Cyclops. Rough time befell upon Odysseus when he revealed his identity to Polyphemus on of Poseidon “god of the sea” that sent rough tides and storms throughout Odysseus journey on the sea, which led him to the Island of Aeolus “god of wind”. At this moment, Homer portrays Odysseus as a hero to his people despite been traumatized with what he and his people underwent through Cyclops and Poseidon.
At the Aeolus Island, Aeolus helps Odysseus to go back to his home in Ithaca be giving him all winds except the west wind and put it in a bag. On his way back at home, almost the shore of Ithaca Island, his companion opens up the bag thinking it contained treasury thus the wind blew the ship back to Aeolus Island where they came from. This made Odysseus furious and took again a lot of time to journey back to his home in Ithaca. In this circumstance, Aeolus decided not to help Odysseus again. Their next stop was the Island of Laestrygonians, which contained a cannibalistic tribe which ate the entire crew of Odysseus except for Odysseus’ ship. At this moment, Odysseus and his men had endured a journey of traumatization that they encountered when they left Troy and met with the gods and beasts. Odysseus was forced to leave the Island of Laestrygonians because of the massive killing of his men and moved to the witch of Circe. At the witch Circe who was a woman, she turned all the Odysseus crew into a pig except Odysseus because he had a magical herb from Hermes that could not enable her to desist from her witchcraft. Consequently, within a short period of time, Circe fell in love with Odysseus and turned the pigs back to men who were Odysseus’ crew. Odysseus and the crew lived on the Island for one year and left to continue their journey to Ithaca. Homer uses different types of settings and characters to depict the emotional and psychological aspects of what Odysseus and his men encountered during their journey back at home. An element of PSTD is observed by the individuals from what they underwent through.
Through advisement from spiritual prophet Teiresias and from his mother, Odysseus went back to Circe’s Island immediately upon receiving news that his wife Penelope was enclosed with potential suitors who wanted to marry her. Odysseus was stressed so much which he took some advisement from Circe on how to avoid monsters Scylla, Sirens, and Charybdis. These were the sea monsters that would have killed them on their way back home. through his disobedience from Circe and prophet Teiresias, Odysseus was caught by Helios “god of the sun” after Zeus intervened and let Odysseus live and be the only survivor but punished his people through the shipwreck in the Island of Thrinacia. After all the trauma and killings from the gods, witches, and monsters, Odysseus went to the Island of Ogygia where he found a witch called Calypso. Calypso was an immortal woman who also fell in love with Odysseus and kept in captivity for seven years. Through her songs, Calypso was able to keep the hero, despite Odysseus will and heart longing to see his wife Penelope. From the emotional torture that Odysseus endured while he was on Ogygia Island, he prayed for Athena “goddess of love” of his misery. Zeus released Odysseus from Calypso captivity through Athena request since she protector of Odysseus. Calypso was mad at the gods but let Odysseus go to his wife in Ithaca.
At this point in time, Homer paints Odysseus who is a hero, a worried person who has endured a lot of deaths, sea monsters, kept in captive, fought battles and punished by gods since the moment he left Ithaca to go a battle in Troy. Finally, Odysseus arrives home in Ithaca via the Island of Phaeacians late at night. With the help of Athena, Odysseus disguises himself as a beggar back at home so as to comprehend what was happening while he was away from his adventurous and traumatized journey. On the other hand, Penelope, his wife has announced his marriage to all the suitors whoever able to string his husband’s bow and then shoot an arrow through twelve axes shafts. Penelope on her mind knew that the terms she put were impossible for any suitors to accomplish except his husband. As a beggar, Odysseus went to his wife and successfully completed the challenge and killed all the suitor with the helper of his son Telemachus. From the Penelope dismay, she still did not believe that Odysseus was his real husband in disguise. Consequently, she further tested Odysseus to move their bed into the room knowing very well that of its leg was a living olive tree, thus could not move. Odysseus also the last test by telling it was impossible knowing that one leg of the bed was a live olive tree so as to win his wife’s trust.
From the Odyssey, Homer uses Odysseus character to reveal the struggles and problems soldiers and warriors go through so as to go back to their family back at home. War changes people totally or partially that may make them return in some illness or disorders from their past experience or exposure they underwent during the war. Odysseus in one hero in Greece that came home successfully but suffered PTSD after coming back home to Ithaca Island. The PTSD turned into an exceedingly announced restorative issue when warriors returned home. Some of them were signed in horri?c routes by their battle encounters, wore out, empty looked at and frightful. Others were always unsettled. Some immediately withdrew from all human organization and went to live in nature. Others couldn’t manage the injury they had seen and progressed toward becoming medication addicts or heavy drinkers. Some went on befuddled, risky frenzies. Others submitted suicide as depicted by Homer. These purposeful human injuries as depicted in the book of Odyssey result in the most serious types of PTSD. They appear to last longest and are hardest to fix. The casualties feel pariah or slandered, and end up pessimistic and sad. At the point when individuals endure an extreme injury, their ways of dealing with stress can close down rapidly. The horrendous accident assumes control over their lives. They over and over remember the occasion in their psyches. They have repeating bad dreams. Certain triggers or signs can set off a prompt fit of anxiety or a ?ashback that makes the casualty think the injury is going on once more. Other PTSD side effects incorporate misery, a sleeping disorder, bad dreams, outrage, sexual issues, weakness, withdrawal from society and desensitized feelings. Casualties are effectively startled and display a significantly overstated startle reaction. For instance, a battle veteran who experiences PTSD may quickly drop to the ground when an auto back?res. Outrageous anxious excitement is another normal side effect. The casualty’s sensory system effectively goes into moment caution, making a powerlessness nod off, in addition to nervousness, eagerness, and fretfulness.
PTSD casualties make a special effort to maintain a strategic distance from upgrades that may trigger ?ashbacks. They close down their cognizant reasoning about the horrible mishap. They decline to examine it. They stay away from individuals, sports and exercises that may trigger obnoxious recollections, contemplations or reactions. They can’t focus. They frequently lose enthusiasm for exercises they once appreciated. They segregate themselves from others, stifling their enthusiastic associations and sentiments. They end up cynical about the future and unfit to envision that great things will ever transpire again. According to Homer in the book of Odyssey, both Odysseus and Achilles suffer PSTD when they undergo moral injury by losing their loved ones such as the Patroclus to Achilles and the crew that led to the assassination of Hector and suitors respectively.
In the modern society, PTSD can be seen as a dread of the repulsive recollections of the horrendous accident that over and over interrupt into one’s mindfulness. Nosy memories can happen as musings, pictures, or recognition. These interruptions are unwelcome, uninvited, and agonizing, and the individual encountering them wishes that they could put a stop to them. They regularly inspire sentiments of dread and helplessness, seethe at the reason, misery, sicken, or coerce. Once in a while, these interruptions get through when one is attempting to unwind and one’s watch is down. Here and there a trigger that helps one to remember the injuries will begin the interruptions. Flashbacks are an especially annoying type of re-encountering the awful accident. In ?ashbacks, we feel that we are returning in time and remembering the injury. Regularly, ?ashbacks are visual re-encounters. Be that as it may, they can likewise include sensations, conduct, or feelings. For instance, huge killings and enduring that Odysseus experienced while he was indifferent Island before returning home, and sees a fight repeating, starts to hear hints of a fight, and feels hot, sweat-soaked, and terri?ed. Afterward, he doesn’t recall the episode. Flashbacks can last from seconds to hours and even days. They are normally accepted to be genuine and after that overlooked, yet some of the time the sufferer will understand that the ?ashback was not reality. Flashbacks are frequently activated by a sleeping disorder, exhaustion, stress, or medications.
Numerous triggers in the present condition can actuate awful memory material and animate interruptions. Triggers are signals regularly innocuous, for example, suitors that needed to wed Penelope while Odysseus was away for around ten years that have progressed toward becoming related with the first injury. Somehow, they help us to remember the injury or review horrendous recollections. The affiliation might be clear or unpretentious. They may trigger a large portion of the memory or simply certain sections of it. Frequently, they trigger interruptions without wanting to. Perceiving triggers and understanding that their capacity to inspire interruptions is justifiable are ventures toward controlling PTSD side effects. Another factor that may lead to PTSD to survivors such as Odysseus from the book of Odyssey by Homer is mood disturbances such as depression and anxiety. Under depression, the following takes after coherently from brought down confidence, sadness, disgrace, misfortune, feeling forever harmed, and cynicism. Along these lines, casualties of injury may be in danger for suicide to the point that such negative musings and sentiments have been settled. Additionally, under the nervousness, the side effects can run from unnecessary stress to pressure, a beating heart, hyperventilation, fondling keyed, and even fits of anxiety.
Individuals do recoup from PTSD. You can set aside the awful mishap and move past it, never again pained by singed recollections, tensions and apprehension. Be that as it may, to show signs of improvement, you should take part in treatment to figure out how to control your pernicious contemplations and manifestations. Mental consideration can enable you to incorporate upsetting recollections so you can put them to rest. One can figure out how to face your nerves and erect defensive mental limits. Thus, one can find how to acknowledge yourself, regardless of your confinements, and to recapture adjust in your life. Through treatment, one can, in the end, free yourself of PTSD. Tolerating this reality is an indispensable ?rst step. Try not to keep running from treatment. Search it out. Find out about the various methodologies that advisors utilize. Abstain from retraumatizing practices like savagery, drugs among others. One can’t endeavor memory work, the embodiment of injury treatment, without an emotional well-being proficient in the modern society.
In conclusion, Homers portrays various stressors towards Odysseus in Odyssey that makes him and other characters such as Achilles undergo PTSD. From the adventure that Odysseus went through from Troy to Ithaca Island when he was coming back home, a lot of traumatized events and scenarios in the book. Homer involves the readers on many traumatizing activities such as massive killing, witchcraft, monsters, and punishment from gods and goddess in various Islands that Odysseus. It is essentially important for returning heroes or soldiers to see a therapist or specialist that would guide them back to associate themselves with other community members for growth and development.
