This document is a first-person account describing the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The speaker describes how their mind, heart, and soul have been affected, pretending to be normal while feeling not caring on the inside and lying to themselves. They experience dreams and memories from their past that feel both false and real, replaying endlessly in their head. Sleep brings nightmares that leave them feeling dread throughout the day, and they wake to find torn sheets and pillows from thrashing in their sleep as reminders of the trauma they continue to relive.

1. PTSD<br />Multimedia Genre 1<br />Playing with my head<br />My mind<br />My heart<br />My soul<br />Pretending to be normal<br />Pretending not to care<br />Lying to myself<br />It’s just a dream<br />Just a memory<br />Just a life<br />Toying with me<br />Making me see things that aren’t there<br />Nothing false, nothing real<br />Everything I’ve already seen<br />Already heard<br />Already lived<br />A replay in my head<br />Never ending<br />Never ceasing<br />Sleep is a tormentor now<br />Trapping me in my nightmares<br />Elusive enough that I can’t catch them in the morning<br />Persistent enough that the feeling of dread<br />Remains with me throughout the day<br />Thrashing about in agony and fear<br />I find the sheets tossed away and the pillows torn apart<br />Reminders of the constant dreams<br />That sends me back in time<br />Back to the war<br />Dead eyes stare back at me in the mirror<br />A dull, hollow reminder of who I once was<br />An empty shell of a person, now<br />Cold and desolate<br />Barren like the desert<br />Void of any emotion save for anger<br />Anger, which storms like the wildest tornado<br />Sweeping in without warning<br />Obliterating all in its path<br />Just as I have been destroyed<br />