We are seeing a lot more about Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in the media in recent years, particularly as more and more military personnel are returning from combat and as our culture is recognizing the traumatic impacts of physical, emotional, and sexual violence. This increase in awareness and the available treatments for PTSD is largely positive and will help lower the stigma or messages that one should “just get over” a traumatic event, allowing more people to receive treatment and alleviate suffering.

In my first two blog posts on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, we explored how the show portrays symptoms of trauma and resiliency. In this post, we will look at Kimmy's recovery and how her process depicts what survivors may face during their own journeys.

In the first blog post on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, we looked at the impact of trauma on the character of Kimmy. This second post shifts to exploring ways Kimmy exemplifies resiliency and posttraumatic growth.

In March, Netflix released the first season of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, an original series created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock. I would probably watch anything involving Tina Fey and actress Ellie Kemper (who plays Kimmy Schmidt), so I settled in without knowing much about the plot of the series.

Dr. Irina Diyankova is a friend and colleague who is providing valuable therapy services to survivors of trauma in Knoxville, Tennessee. She recently wrote the following blog post about the high activation and disconnection

The symptoms of anxiety or effects of trauma can take up a lot of mental and physical space in the body. As humans, our attention goes to these areas of pain or discomfort. This is adaptive in some ways (for instance, you need to notice pain that lets you know that you are in immediate danger), but it is problematic when the attention chronically goes to areas of unease.