A look into PTSD in the Perks of Being a Wallflower

1. PTSD in the Perks of Being a Wallflower
Shaye Pinner

2. What is PTSD?
PTSD, or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, is
an anxiety disorder that affects those that
have experienced or witnessed a traumatic
and stressful event.
People with the disorder experience
emotional problems, irritability, high arousal,
sleep problems, black outs, and flashbacks.
While these are the typical symptoms,
everyone with PTSD experiences the
disorder differently.
Most people suffering from this disorder
see improvements in their condition after
receiving psychiatric help.

3. What is the Perks of Being a Wallflower?
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a novel and a movie based around the life of Charlie, a high
school freshman in Pittsburg, PA. Charlie can be described as an outcast in school, he is
withdrawn and quiet, but also observant and smart. Throughout the story the audience learns of an
aunt that died on Christmas Eve, which also happens to be Charlie’s birthday, when he was seven
years old. A second tragedy occured in his life when his only friend committed suicide months
before they were to start high school together.
When two seniors realize how alone Charlie is, they take pity on him and decide to take him in and
be the friends he desperately needs. While Charlie seems to participate more and begins to open
up to his friends, as soon as the anniversary of his aunt’s death rolls around, he begins to feel
down and anxious. These feelings resurface when his senior friends begin to move away for
college.

4. What symptoms of
PTSD are shown
through Charlie?

5. Charlie experiences many flashbacks throughout the
year. They typically occur when his memory is triggered
by an event, a word, or a place. During these flashbacks,
Charlie not only remembers clips from his repressed
memories, but also experiences confusion, sweating,
and his heart races. He goes into a sort of panic mode
as he remembers incidents from when he was molested
as a child, along with his friends suicide.
One of the most prominent flashbacks occurs while he
is kissing Sam. While she kisses him, all that he can
think of is his Aunt Helen. He pictures her talking to him,
telling him not to wake his sister. It doesn’t show her
doing anything to him, although it is implied that she
had touched him sexually despite him being her 7 year
old nephew. Charlie becomes distracted and confused
as to if he should continue kissing Sam or not.

6. Anger and Aggression
In the book, it is stated that while Charlie was decent at sports, he was not allowed to participate
because he became too angry. He never knew why this happened, only that he couldn’t control it.
This could have been due to suppressed emotions associated with his PTSD
Charlie’s aggression is also shown when a group of people are attacking his friend Patrick in the
cafeteria. In a moment of rage, Charlie attacked the group of guys much larger than himself, and
won. However, he only realized what he had done after the fact, as he had experienced a blackout
as soon as he saw his friend getting hurt. Although Charlie had no intentions of hurting someone,
he lacks a control over his emotions and it typically quick to anger.

7. Breakdown
After his friends leave for college,
Charlie is shown wandering the
streets while he experiences many
flashbacks about his aunt. He wants
it all to stop, but he can’t make it
stop by himself. Once at his house,
he calls his sister and tells her that
his aunt’s death was his fault before
hanging up. His plan was to commit
suicide, however the police showed
up thanks to a call from his sister
before he ever had the chance.

8. What caused Charlie’s
PTSD?

9. Aunt Helen
Charlie describes his Aunt Helen as his ‘favorite
person in the world’. However, the actions she
took around Charlie, and the trauma she put
him through, do not make her as caring as
many described her to be. As the story
progresses, the audience discovers that
Charlie’s Aunt Helen had molested him as a
child. She had treated him different than his
siblings, always keeping him up until after his
siblings went to bed. She told him that
everything they were doing was their secret,
and that he could never tell anyone else. When
she died, all of the memories about her were
pushed to the back of his mind as his 7 year old
brain did not know how to deal with the trauma,
overwhelming emotions, and guilt.

10. Other Factors
Another factor that worsened Charlie’s PTSD was the death of his friend Michael Dobson. Michael was
Charlie’s only friend throughout middle school, and when he committed suicide shortly before they were
to start high school, it broke Charlie. Making friends had never been easy to Charlie, so when his only
friend left him, his social anxiety and depression worsened. All of the symptoms of Charlie’s PTSD started
to show themselves more after the tragedy of his friends death.
The final factor that affected Charlie’s PTSD, was when his brother threw a party at their house. Charlie
was ordered to stay in his room, where everyone would be putting their coats. While Charlie was in the
room, he witnessed one of his brothers friends, Dave, rape his girlfriend. He didn’t completely realize what
had happened until he explained the scene to his friends Sam and Patrick. As soon as he realized what
happened to the girl, Charlie felt guilty as he had not done anything to stop it. This guilt consumes Charlie,
causing him to hate himself for not standing up for her, and in turn worsens his PTSD symptoms.

11. After Charlie attempts suicide, he is taken to
Mayview Hospital, a psychiatric facility
where they uncover the truth about his aunt.
His family is told of the unfortunate
experience, and he is officially diagnosed
with PTSD.
Charlie receives treatment at the facility, and
is later able to return home. While he still has
the horrible memories, he finds a way to
forgive his aunt, and his therapist helps him
to move on with his life.

12. What is the Treatment for PTSD?
Individuals with PTSD are often introduced to a branch
of therapy called psychotherapy. This branch of therapy
includes:
● Cognitive Therapy: This helps individuals
recognize the way that they think, and how this
affects them.
● Exposure Therapy: This helps individuals face and
cope with memories and situations like
flashbacks.
● Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing
(EMDR): This helps to change how individuals
react to memories through exposure therapy and
guided eye movements.
Some individuals also find medications to be extremely
helpful towards their recovery. Some medications that
can be used include:
● Antidepressants: These can help with any
depression, anxiety, trouble sleeping, and
concentration problems that might occur due to
the PTSD.
● Anti-anxiety medications: These can help with
anxiety related problems.
● Prazosin: Some believe that this medication
helps suppress nightmares associated with
PTSD, although there is no proof of this yet.

13. Sources
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/post-traumatic-stress-disorder/diagnosis-
treatment/drc-20355973
https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/ptsd/what-is-ptsd