Counterintuitive Spring 2023

Brannan Vines has never been to war. But she’s got a warrior’s skills: hyperawareness, hypervigilance, adrenaline-sharp quick-scanning for danger, for triggers.

• This is a categorical claim, the author assuming that these skills must be that of a warrior. Although these traits may be common to some soldiers, they can not be accepted universally. Some soldiers may be bumbling, slow witted, and not very aware at all.

He’s one of 103,200, or 228,875, or 336,000 Americans who served in Iraq or Afghanistan and came back with PTSD, depending on whom you ask, and one of 115,000 to 456,000 with traumatic brain injury. It’s hard to say, with the lack of definitive tests for the former, undertesting for the latter, underreporting, under or over-misdiagnosing of both.

• These various numbers given are all categorical claims that are not even those of the author. They are numerically categorizing soldiers as sufferers of PTSD or traumatic brain injury. The author goes on to make a claim of her own without providing clarification or examples. She merely states that there is a lack of definitive tests for PTSD, and underreporting/over-misdiagnosing of both.

Hypervigilance sounds innocuous, but it is in fact exhaustingly distressing, a conditioned response to life-threatening situations. Imagine there’s a murderer in your house. And it is dark outside, and the electricity is out. Imagine your nervous system spiking, readying you as you feel your way along the walls, the sensitivity of your hearing, the tautness in your muscles, the alertness shooting around inside your skull. And then imagine feeling like that all the time.

• Here, McClelland appeals to the reader’s emotions to convey the feelings of one who suffers from PTSD. First, she assumes that readers think of hypervigilance as nothing to fret over. The, she claims that all people would react the same to a murderer in their presence. Also, this extreme example may be overstating the mindset of one with PTSD. It seems a little far-fetched when she claims they feel like this all the time. This means 100 percent of their waking, and presumably sleeping, life is spent creeping about waiting for a murderer to pop out. I could be wrong, but it seems likely that there would be at least a sliver of time where they do not feel all of these high emotions.

Caleb has been home since 2006, way more than enough time for Brannan to catch his symptoms.

• McClelland makes a causal claim here. She is saying that the duration that one is exposed to a family member with the disorder can have an affect on their contracting it. Does anyone really know how long it takes for one to “catch” PTSD, and if it can even be passed along? McClelland makes PTSD sound like a virus or contagious disease, especially with the use of the word catch. Is she implying when she says “way more than enough time” that Brannan is past the incubation period?

Even when everyone’s in the family room watching TV, it’s only connected to Netflix and not to cable, since news is often a trigger.

• Another causal claim. There is no basis provided for the claim that news often triggers PTSD. Although this may be true in Caleb’s case, it shouldn’t be generalized to all PTSD sufferers. 

This PTSD picture is worse than some, but much better, Brannan knows, than those that have devolved into drug addiction and rehab stints and relapses.

• Just because some PTSD sufferers are on drugs does not make their situation worse than that of the Vines family. For instance, a PTSD afflicted soldier may latch onto drugs as a way of calming his symptoms, entering perhaps a comatose state to clear his mind. This could prevent him from hurting his family or engaging in violence. On the other hand, the drug free Caleb Vines constantly has his family on edge. It’s hard to say one is worse than the other: a drug-addled soldier whose mind is in far away, mystical lands or a clean Caleb who is ready to murder at the sound of a bug hitting the window.

They don’t know why some other guys in his unit who did and saw the same stuff that Caleb did and saw are fine but Caleb is so sensitive to light, why he can’t just watch the news like a regular person without feeling as if he might catch fire.

• “Fine” is a subjective term. These men who were in Caleb’s unit could be dealing with raging inner demons, and perhaps they just don’t display it as outwardly as Caleb.

Civil War doctors, who couldn’t think of any other thing that might be unpleasant about fighting the Civil War but homesickness, diagnosed thousands with “nostalgia.”

• Although this may be McClelland’s attempt at sarcasm, this claim states that Civil War doctors only accounted for homesickness as the sole ail of a soldier, overlooking torments like witnessing murders, dodging bullets, or experiencing excruciating bodily injuries. It would seem more likely than not that these doctors took all of the other aspects of war time into account when diagnosing soldiers.

“Trauma is a contagious disease; it affects everyone that has close contact with a traumatized person” in some form or another, to varying degrees and for different lengths of time.

• This categorical claim is making PTSD out to be some sort of extremely contagious disease on par with measles. “It affects everyone that has close contact with a traumatized person” can conjure up images of people who pass a soldier with PTSD in a grocery store becoming afflicted with the condition. Although it did state “close” contact, it should make it clear that the intended example is that of family members, or those who interact with the person on a daily basis.

“Katie Vines.” Brannan was born here in Alabama, so that’s drawled.

• This assumes all Alabamians fall under the Southern accent category. Although most do, it can not just be inferred that Brannan Vines speaks with a drawl because she is from Alabama. I could not just say a soldier went to Iraq, so he has PTSD. Geographic influences do not apply to all denizens of the area. 

1.   “But she’s got a warrior’s skills: hyperawareness, hypervigilance, adrenaline-sharp quick-scanning for danger, for triggers. Super stimuli-sensitive.” This sentence is stating that the girl has all these skills, but there is no proof that she is like this at this point in the article.

2. “And as slippery as all that is, even less understood is the collateral damage, to families, to schools, to society—emotional and fiscal costs borne long after the war is over.” This claim talks about the aftermath of war and PTSD. No one understands truly.

3. “Hypervigilance sounds innocuous, but it is in fact exhaustingly distressing, a conditioned response to life-threatening situations.” Wasn’t sure if this was a claim because it said in fact but i put it anyway.

4. “Even when everyone’s in the family room watching TV, it’s only connected to Netflix and not to cable, since news is often a trigger.” News can trigger PTSD.

5. It’s kind of hard to understand Caleb’s injuries. Here they are stating how hard it is to understand Caleb’s injuries. It is a claim.

6. Whatever is happening to Caleb, it’s as old as war itself. However long Caleb was in war for is how long his PTSD could of been going on.

7. “She is not, according to Brannan, “a normal, carefree six-year-old.” I feel this is a statement so it’s a claim

Is PTSD Contagious?
Contagious is a bit misleading in this case. Contagious would imply that PTSD is transferred through the spread of bacteria or a virus, but you can’t “catch” PTSD by the same means you would catch the flu.
Being too cognizant of every sound—every coin dropping an echo—she explodes inwardly, fury flash-incinerating any normal tolerance for a fellow patron with a couple of dollars in quarters and dimes.
Our first claim is assuming there is a such thing as being too aware. Too aware of every sound, assuming she can hear every sound, even thought she is immediately said to be “deaf with rage” after this sentence. This sound being every coin that drops into an echo. If she is focused on the sound of the coins dropping, could she hear every other sound?
Caleb has been home since 2006, way more than enough time for Brannan to catch his symptoms.
We’re back to using the terminology “catch” to insinuate that PTSD is comparable to a virus or bacteria, something like the flu. In the time span of Caleb coming home, Brannan is exposed to PTSD. How much time would need to go by before she is “infected” by this disorder? When would symptoms start to show?
Even when everyone’s in the family room watching TV, it’s only connected to Netflix and not to cable, since news is often a trigger.
The whole family is affected by Caleb’s triggers. Why would they disconnect their cable, and not just censor certain channels? Netflix has some violent content. Besides opting not to watch it, would the family put any censors on their own programing? If they go so far to disconnect their cable, why would Netflix be any different?
“Sometimes I can’t do the laundry,” Brannan explains, reclining on her couch. “And it’s not like, ‘Oh, I’m too tired to do the laundry,’ it’s like, ‘Um, I don’t understand how to turn the washing machine on.’ I am looking at a washing machine and a pile of laundry and my brain is literally overwhelmed by trying to figure out how to reconcile them.”
Caleb’s PSTD has an obvious affect on Brannan. Laundry is something most adults know how to do, and assuming she does the majority of the laundry, it would seem silly she suddenly forgets how everything works. For there to be such a violent shift in thought process where she no longer understands how to work the laundry machine and feels as though she needs to “reconcile” with the machine shows she is truly overwhelmed. Her brain has taken on the qualities of PTSD by witnessing Caleb’s episodes.
And there’s Caleb, slim, in a tux, three years older than Brannan at 22, in every single picture just about the smilingest motherfucker you’ve ever seen, in a shy kind of way.
Brannan married at 19, Caleb at 22. Their pictures at their wedding are happy. The author uses a rather strong word to describe Caleb, then contradicts herself by writing “in a shy kind of way”. Was he the smilingest motherfucker, or was he shy? Could he be both?
Some hypotheses for why PTSD only tortures some trauma victims blame it on unhappily coded proteins, or a misbehaving amygdala. Family history, or maybe previous trauma.
There is no known cause for PTSD, at least not for now. What throws doctors is that PTSD does not affect everyone who comes back from combat. Because of this, the cause is hypothesized that PTSD originates from “unhappy coded proteins”, “misbehaving amygdala”, or potentially family history, making those who suffer from PTSD at the very least have a familial sensitivity to trauma, counteracting the title of “Is PTSD Contagious?”. In that case, wouldn’t PTSD be genetic?
Whatever is happening to Caleb, it’s as old as war itself.
– Caleb, being a man of average age is not as old as war itself. War is incredibly old, dating back whole civilizations. The comparison is between war and PTSD. By that logic, PTSD has most likely occurred through every war, only now we have a name for it.
Civil War doctors, who couldn’t think of any other thing that might be unpleasant about fighting the Civil War but homesickness, diagnosed thousands with “nostalgia.” Later, it was deemed “irritable heart.” In World War I it was called “shell shock.” In World War II, “battle fatigue.”
– Most of these claims are just sad. Civil War doctors didn’t think there was anything unpleasant about war? Their answer to those who felt uneasy with war were diagnosed with nostalgia, homesickness, because obviously that’s the only reason why men would not fight. As time goes on we get a little closer. “Irritable heart” could be considered a symptom. “Shell Shock” is even closer, shock being the key word, insinuating something about the soldier’s surroundings had to do with their discontentment. “Battle Fatigue” is in the ballpark, but not quite as strong as “shell shock”.
Doctors have to go on hunches and symptomology rather than definitive evidence.
There are no biological symptoms for PTSD. Doctors have to literally guess and check, going along with what makes the most sense. Not a very exact science, but there is nothing else to be done right now. Because it is a disorder, would it be based in the brain? Would the brain show any symptoms?
“Somebody at the VA told me, ‘Kids in Congo and Uganda don’t have PTSD,'” Caleb tells me angrily one day.
Someone says that “Kids in Congo and Uganda don’t have PTSD” to Caleb. This person could be claiming that those kids are stronger than Caleb, or even that PTSD is made up. In whatever context, this person claimed PTSD to be silly, possibly made up. Claims aside, this is truly heartbreaking to hear.
He wasn’t diagnosed for years after he got back, despite Brannan’s frantic phone calls to the VA begging for tests, since her husband, formerly a high-scoring civil-engineering major at Auburn University, was asking her to help him do simple division.
– Brain injuries are taken incredibly serious now, but in Caleb’s tours, that was not the case, and he suffered a lot of head injuries. He was not diagnosed for years, presumably because no one checked. No one checked even though Brannan had made several phone calls. Did she ever call an emergency line? Regardless of whether or not she did, why does it seem like no one gave her the time of day? Caleb was presumably a very intelligent man, so why would no one take time to even check out the story, considering head injuries are now taken so heavily into account?

1.) Is PTSD contagious?

• This is a question being asked because of the usage of the word “is”
• Usually when people think of PTSD they think that it’s a mental condition that cannot be spread (like a virus).
• This question imposes that PTSD might be contagious.

2.) “Brannan Vines have never been to war”

• Brannan has never been to war, but she is hypervigilance and hyperaware of everything.
• She detects danger and is impatient.
• Brannan gets mad for the littlest thing
• At this point people would thing that she has temper problems.

3.) “Brannan Vines has never been to war, but her husband, Caleb, was sent to Iraq twice, where he served in the infantry as a designated marksman.”

• Caleb, Brannan’s husband, went to war and it was said that he had brain trauma while serving in Afghanistan/ Iran.
• People don’t take PTSD serious but it has long time affects on the community

4.) “Like Brannan’s symptoms. Hypervigilance sounds innocuous, but it is in fact exhaustingly distressing, a conditioned response to life-threatening situations.”

• We can get a picture of what PTSD feels like
• The Vines feel this sense of threat every single day.

5.)”Caleb has been home since 2006, way more than enough time for Brannan to catch his symptoms.”

• This goes back to the question if PTSD is contagious or not.
• Brannan was around Caleb so much that she “caught” the PTSD
• The Vine’s house is secluded from the rest of the town so it is easy to hear the littlest things
• They don’t watch the news because there are triggers
• There are still some worse cases of PTSD out there

6.) “Sometimes I can’t do the laundry,”

• Brannan’s mind blanks out
• Her voice is shaky
• When Caleb is gone, the blinds are open; however, when Caleb comes back, Brannan closes the blinds
• This indicates that Caleb’s situation is far worse than Brannans

7.) “THE VINESES’ WEDDING ALBUM is gorgeous, leather-bound,”

• This shows how “normal” and “Happy” the Vines were back then before Caleb went to war.

8.) “Now, he’s rounder, heavier, bearded, and long-haired”

• This shows how much the war affected Caleb

9.)”It’s kind of hard to understand Caleb’s injuries.”

• Doctors don’t know what is wrong with Caleb
• They think it has something to do with the proteins or family history/trauma
• This shows how much doctors are still unaware about the causes of PTSD

10.) “Whatever is happening to Caleb, it’s as old as war itself.”

• This shows that there are many cases in the past of PTSD.
• People were not fond of others who had PTSD
• Some were executed and others were hit
• This gives insight on actions that can make PTSD worse.

Time’s up.

Cover your mouth when you cough, Don’t catch the PTSD

BRANNAN VINES HAS NEVER BEEN to war. But she’s got a warrior’s skills:

By saying this, the author is implying that to have warrior skills, you must have gone to war.

hyperawareness, hypervigilance, adrenaline-sharp quick-scanning for danger, for triggers

Do all warriors have these skills? Do only warriors have these skills?

Can civilians also be hyperaware? If you are hyperaware does it mean that you are also a warrior?

Her nose starts running she’s so pissed, and there she is standing in a CVS, snotty and deaf with rage, like some kind of maniac, because a tiny elderly woman needs an extra minute to pay for her dish soap or whatever.

Is she pissed because she has a short temper?

Is her anger definitely from the PTSD she has or is she just not very patient?

He’s one of 103,200, or 228,875, or 336,000 Americans who served in Iraq or Afghanistan and came back with PTSD.

Which number is it? Is there no total of PTSD victims? By saying that there are three different possible amounts of people suffering from PTSD thee author doesn’t seem very knowledgeable about the subject.

Those numbers are from people who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Are those the only war heroes that can develop PTSD?

Caleb has been home since 2006, way more than enough time for Brannan to catch his symptoms.

How would she have caught them? Are they spread through the air like a virus? Do they catch PTSD or develop it?

If Caleb was home after 2006 would Brannan have had enough time to catch it?

This PTSD picture is worse than some, but much better, Brannan knows, than those that have devolved into drug addiction and rehab stints and relapses.

How does Brannan know that her picture is better than the people who turned to drugs? Who is she to judge if it helps someone cope with their PTSD?

How does she know that Caleb’s PTSD isn’t worse than the people who do drugs?

“Sometimes I can’t do the laundry,” Brannan explains, reclining on her couch. “And it’s not like, ‘Oh, I’m too tired to do the laundry,’ it’s like, ‘Um, I don’t understand how to turn the washing machine on.

Does her secondary PTSD affect her memory?

Do all PTSD victims forget how to work appliances?

1. “Is PTSD Contagious?” When we talk about contagions we normally thing about bacterial diseases, so could PTSD be related to bacterial diseases? If we assume it is contagious, then there would have to be evidence of something bacterial that can cause PTSD.
2. “But she’s got a warrior’s skills: hyperawareness, hypervigilance, adrenaline-sharp quick-scanning for danger, for triggers.” How could Brannan Vines acquire all these attributes without ever going to war? Either she “contracted” them from her husband, or merely adapted to her surroundings and was forced to enhance her survival skills to live somewhat comfortably.
3. “sweet old lady” all old ladies are sweet and innocent.
4. “even less understood is the collateral damage, to families, to schools, to society” All of the studies (or the few that have been done) on PTSD have garnered very little information on the patients, and even less on the damage done to their surroundings that are affected by them.
5. “Hypervigilance sounds innocuous, but it is in fact exhaustingly distressing, a conditioned response to life-threatening situations.” Brannan Vines has never been in life-threatening situations, so how could she have PTSD if hypervigilance is only found in PTSD victims?
6. “Imagine there’s a murderer in your house.” We can relate to how PTSD victims feel if we imagine a murderer is lurking near us to kill us.
7. “Caleb has been home since 2006, way more than enough time for Brannan to catch his symptoms.” Using the word “catch” again relates PTSD to a bacterial disease. “Adapt” is a more proper word if in fact PTSD is contagious in any way.

Time ran out.

“But she’s got warrior skills: hyperawareness, hypervigiliance, adrenaline-sharp quick scanning for danger, for triggers.” This is a categorical claim that explains the symptoms Brannan is currently having. These “warlike” skills show that Brannan has caught them from her husband Caleb, who once served in Iraq. Hearing triggers and quickly scanning for danger is a sign of PSTD, since Brannan is always paranoid.

“Standing behind a sweet old lady.” Assuming this old lady was sweet without actually knowing is a claim.

“And as slippery as all that is, even less understood is the collateral damage, to families, to schools, to society- emotional and fiscal costs borne long after war is over.” A claim that all families suffer from the aftermath of war. Also, that all soldiers who come back deal with emotional and fiscal costs after the war is over with.

“Caleb has been home since 2006, way more than enough time for Brannan to catch his symptoms.” The symptoms of PTSD is related to a common cold by using the term “catch.” Making a claim that you can catch the symptoms of PTSD just as fast as you catch the chicken pox or a common cold.

“When a sound erupts- Caleb screaming at Brannan because she’s just woken him up from a nightmare, after making sure she’s at least an arm’s length away in case he wakes up swinging.” A categorical claim of the symptoms describing PTSD. The loud noises frighten Caleb because he’s paranoid from hearing gun shots from war.

“Even when everyone’s in the family room watching TV, it’s only connected to Netflix and not to cable, since news is often a trigger.” Claiming that the only thing on TV is the news. Also by watching the news might scare Caleb and make his symptoms worse since the news might have violence on it that he doesn’t want to see.

“She has not, unlike military wives she advises, ever been beat up.” PTSD can cause a person to be a lot more violent and lead to domestic abuse.

“When we hear Caleb pulling back in the driveway, we jump up and grab their strings, plunging the living room back into the usual necessary darkness.” Another one of Caleb’s symptoms is sensitivity to light. Being in the bright light might make it harder for Caleb to concentrate and he’s used to the darkness from war.

“It’s kind of hard to understand Caleb’s injuries.” Implies that it’s hard to understand people who suffer from PTSD and that’s it even harder for Caleb to deal with his PTSD since no one is capable of understanding why he has it.

“Whatever is happening to Caleb, it’s as old as war itself.” PTSD is categorized as “whatever” since no one can really identify it and since Caleb has been home for so long he needs to let it go.

“diagnosing PTSD is a tricky thing.” Diagnosing a person with PTSD just because they are always hallucinating, panicking, violent, sensitive to light, etc. is a very complicated thing to do because that could be signs of other disorders such as Bipolar Disorder or the result of a malfunctioning nervous system.

Time is up!

But she’s got a warrior’s skills: hyperawareness, hypervigilance, adrenaline-sharp quick-scanning for danger, for triggers.

-This categorical claim explains the symptoms Brannan feels.

-She has all of these war-like skills she uses to look for triggers. Triggers are dangerous things that can cause a PTSD episode.

-These symptoms are suggesting she caught these war-like skills from her husband. Are her husband’s episodes a kind of trigger for her PTSD?

And as slippery as all that is, even less understood is the collateral damage, to families, to schools, to society—emotional and fiscal costs borne long after the war is over.

-This claim defines the aftermath of people suffering from PTSD.

-No one understands, not even one’s community, who is supposed to be there to help.

-Lack of understanding worsens suffering by adding to the list of things that need to be dealt with.

When a sound erupts—Caleb screaming at Brannan because she’s just woken him up from a nightmare, after making sure she’s at least an arm’s length away in case he wakes up swinging—the ensuing silence seems even denser.

-Categorical claim of symptoms of PTSD.

-Contrasting the loud and violent episode to the noiseless aftermath.

-Suggesting both situations, loud and silent, are just as bad.

Some hypotheses for why PTSD only tortures some trauma victims blame it on unhappily coded proteins, or a misbehaving amygdala.

-The definition claim personifies the theorized causes of PTSD- the causes have feelings too, just like the trauma victims.

-They are equal. It’s not their fault they suffer from PTSD and others don’t.

-What can be done to make the proteins happy and keep the amygdala in line?

Whatever is happening to Caleb, it’s as old as war itself.

-Defines PTSD as an ancient kind of disease, and the severity of suffering with the seriousness of war.

-If PTSD is so old, why are people still suffering?

Basically your spouse’s behavior becomes the “T” in your own PTSD.

-This claim defines Secondary Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

-Your spouse who is suffering from the disease is your traumatic experience, which leads you to suffer also.

They’d “assumed the normal positions,” she with her back to the restaurant, he facing it so he could monitor everyone, and suddenly, a server dropped a tray out of her periphery, setting her circulatory system off at a million miles a minute.

-Describing symptoms of Secondary PTSD.

-“She” has experienced her husband’s actions after a loud noise and he body prepares her for his response this time.

-Her reaction clearly parallels to her husband’s previous reactions, suggesting she has “caught” his PTSD.

A 2000 VA budget crunch led to her clinic’s contract being terminated—and her husband’s disability pay ended when he killed himself in 2001.

-Claims VA is harsh in decisions because she was in need, and they cut her off due to money

-Sets up the idea that after her husband killed himself, she was no longer the VA’s problem

-The VA is supposed to be helpful, why are good people getting screwed over?

It may take years for the verdict to come in on whether secondary trauma will be officially acknowledged as its own unique form of hell.

-Claims gaining the acceptance of a new mental illness will not be easy.

-Secondary trauma may be just as worse as actual trauma.

Back at home, Steve drank wildly. He waged war with his wife, attempted to work odd jobs where he had as little contact with humans as possible.

-Symptoms of PTSD ruin what was once normal.

-The “new normal” of having a short temper and not wanting to socialize is the aftermath of war.

-Drinking and avoiding contact are ways of coping, although they are not healthy.

PTSD ARTICLE CLAIM BREAKDOWN

1. “Is PTSD contagious”- Contagious is a term that is often used when talking about bacteria based (microbe based) diseases (measles, smallpox) so are we putting PTSD, a psychological condition in the same category as measles? Also the article talks about a man that, in addition to PTSD might have some sort of traumatic brain injury, which has symptoms all of its own.
2. “But she’s got a warrior’s skills: hyperawareness, hypervigilance, adrenaline-sharp quick-scanning for danger, for triggers.”- Claims all “warriors” have these attributes, also refers to those serving in the military as “warriors” of some description.
3. “sweet old lady”- All old ladies are sweet and innocent.
4. “It’s hard to say, with the lack of definitive tests for the former, undertesting for the latter, underreporting, under or over-misdiagnosing of both.”- Insinuating that vets with these disorders are not given proper care, or the proper resources.
5. “Caleb has been home since 2006, way more than enough time for Brannan to catch his symptoms”- The term “catch” is used, which is a term often used when you “catch a cold”. PTSD is compared to the common cold in terms of ability to spread quickly.
6. “it’s only connected to Netflix and not to cable, since news is often a trigger.”- The only thing on the TV is the news. PTSD attacks are also claimed to be triggered by the news, but nothing on Netflix.
7. “She sounds like she might start crying, not because she is, but because that’s how she always sounds, like she’s talking from the top of a clenched throat, tonally shaky and thin.”- Claims that this women sounds shaky etc., as a result of PTSD, but the author would not know if this is due to the PTSD or perhaps how she always acts.
8. “Not the old ‘Nam guy with a limp, or maybe the young legless Iraq survivor, that you’d expect.”- Generalizing injuries of veterans.
9. “It’s kind of hard to understand Caleb’s injuries.”- Categorizes PTSD as a condition that you cannot understand.
10. “in soldiers, the incidence of PTSD goes up with the number of tours and amount of combat experienced.”- Claims the longer you are at war the larger the chance of PTSD.
11. “even if a couple of times he has inadvisably downed his medication with a lot of booze, admitting to Brannan that he doesn’t care if he dies;”- Insinuates that those with PTSD are alcoholics that “do not care if they die”.
12. “formerly a high-scoring civil-engineering major at Auburn University, was asking her to help him do simple division.”- Claims that inability to do simple division was the only reason that a test for a TBI would be needed.
13. “Unlike PTSD, secondary traumatic stress doesn’t have  its own entry in the DSM”- This women’s condition already has a name, so she is not “catching” PTSD.
14. “If sympathy for Caleb is a little lacking, you can imagine what little understanding exists for Brannan.”- We do not care about those with PTSD at all is what this is saying.

Time ran out.