Comfort Woman, written by Nora Ojka Keller, tells the fictional story of two women, a mother and a daughter, linked by their genetics and torn by their different cultures and experiences. Keller explores not only the past experiences of Akiko's mother, a Korean refugee from World War II who is forced to work in an internment camp as a "comfort woman" for Japanese soldiers, but also the adverse psychological effects – including the onset of what appears to be post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – that these experiences have had on Akiko, and subsequently, how they affect her inability to form healthy relationships later in the life. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"?Get Original Essay Akiko has many symptoms of PTSD, a debilitating anxiety disorder caused by "exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in during which serious physical harm occurred or was threatened” (NIMH 1). The main symptoms of PTSD include dissociative symptoms, emotional numbing, reliving the horrible experience over and over again, and the inability to form healthy relationships after the experience (NIMH 1). Each of these symptoms is exhibited by Akiko at some point in the novel. Although various events can cause PTSD, there is enough research to demonstrate that rape, sexual assault, or sexual assault is a significant risk factor in women (Tuft 1). As a comfort woman, Akiko endured intense sexual abuse and throughout the book, little by little, reveals disturbing anecdotes about her experiences. For example, Akiko describes an abortion she suffered while in the camp. The doctor who performed the operation offered him “the choice between rat poison and the stick” to remove the fetus. Akiko painfully recounts that while the doctor was “digging and piercing” her stomach – with her mouth and hands tied – he talked about women, comparing them to female rats who are controlled by male rats and, regardless of the circumstances, “ will always respond sexually to him.” » (Keller 22). The doctor then “squeezed [her] nipples, pinching them until they tightened” and said, “See? (Keller 22). Horrible for Akiko, not only physically, but probably mentally as well. Perhaps the strongest PTSD symptoms that have affected Akiko are those that are considered "dissociative symptoms" - or the ability to block certain memories, slip into "trances" or feel emotions. numbness. Akiko exhibits this type of dissociative behavior several times in the novel. For example, she demonstrates emotional numbness early in the novel, when she explains that she was "already dead" when her first baby was born (Keller 15). She talks about how the Japanese soldiers had not only left her inside "too bruised and bruised, impossible to fully heal" but also took her soul (Keller 15). Akiko also entered "trances" which are just one of the dissociative symptoms of PTSD, but also have similarities to the delusions present in many schizophrenics. People suffering from PTSD are, in fact, prone to developing symptoms of mild schizophrenia, such as delusions and hallucinations (Braakman 16). In one study, hallucinations exhibited by PTSD sufferers were primarily related to the traumatic event they suffered, for example, "voices of dead friends calling for help" and delusionswere primarily “paranoid/persecutory” (Braakman 18). Akiko exhibits delusional symptoms. behavior throughout the novel. For example, Akiko is convinced that she is capable of communing with the dead. When Akiko enters a “trance,” she truly believes she is communicating with the dead (Keller 46). Akiko names each spirit she communes with and describes each as having its own personality and appearance. A typical "trance" would involve Akiko attempting to summon the spirit she has named Saja the Messenger of Death, and according to Beccah, Akiko would "dance while holding raw meat - chicken, or pig's feet, or a pig's head – calling ''Saja, Saja' in a singing voice. Even when Beccah tried to stop her, Akiko continued to "waltz" with the pig's head and ignored her (Keller 47). Akiko also suffered from paranoid delusions. Akiko is extremely paranoid about Beccah and the red disaster and sal that she believes will taint her young child. Akiko was so worried about Beccah becoming a woman that she made desperate attempts to protect Beccah from her inevitable entrance into womanhood, including destroying the red clothes, not allowing Beccah to attend school field trips, and even visiting Beccah's school to protect her (Keller 76). Everything in Akiko's world contained sal, and Beccah began to feel that "salt was leaking from her pores" (Keller 82). Paranoid delusions like this are common among people with PTSD. Constantly reliving the traumatic event is another common symptom of PTSD, and one that Akiko also exhibited (NIMH 1). Akiko, when she first arrived with the missionaries, did everything to keep herself busy. She remembers that she “couldn't stop cleaning, washing, cooking, gluing because if [she] did, the sounds of the camp would surround [her] and [she] would be back there” (Keller 65). She was terrified that if she didn't stay busy, she would start to relive or feel pain from the experience. To avoid this, she jumped out of bed every morning and “hurried into action,” because if she did not, she knew she would be “delivered to the camps once again” (Keller 65). There is also a strong correlation between PTSD and depression, with 43 to 64 percent of battered women suffering from PTSD also reporting symptoms of depression (Tuft 407). Akiko, according to Beccah, “tried twice to meet the Harbinger of Death on his own terms” (Keller 47). Suicidal thoughts and actions are by far the most dramatic and damaging effects of depression. Not only do people with PTSD endure episodes of depression, emotional numbing, and falling into “trance” states, but they also develop problems with intimacy and establishing healthy relationships (NIMH). 1). Akiko never seemed to develop a normal relationship with her husband or daughter. Her intimacy issues become apparent the first time Akiko has sex with her husband. She is incapable of letting go and having fun, nor of feeling any affection towards him. Akiko said that “as he positioned himself above me, inserting himself between my thighs, I let my mind drift away. For then, I knew that my body was and always would be locked in a cabin in the camps, trapped under the bodies of countless men” (Keller 106). Another example of her inability to feel affection or maintain a healthy relationship occurred when Akiko described an incident in which her husband sang to Beccah. The song reminded Akiko of her husband when she first met him, and. 15-24.