PTSD Demons On Film

Wounded Times

Kathie Costos

January 8, 2023

If you have PTSD, then you know how to spot the demon someone else is struggling to get rid of. We can all see that all-too-familiar sadness in the eyes of someone else. Once our own eyes were opened by those that came before us, we begin to notice how it has been inflicting people since the beginning of time. You may wonder, as I do, why others never understand what is right in front of them.

If you look up famous movies about PTSD, you won't find the one playing in your dreams every night or in the flashbacks that come without warning. Sadly, if you look online for a list of movies with characters struggling with it, you won't find as many as there have been because the list makers do not seem to understand that is part of the script even if not overtly so.

Most of the lists I found were the same and I picked this one from Ranker to give you an idea.

"This list answers the questions, "What are the best post-traumatic stress disorder movies?" and "What is the greatest post-traumatic stress disorder movie of all time?"

1, The Deer Hunter

2, American Sniper

3, Fearless

4, Jacobs Ladder

5, Brothers

6, Perks Of Being A Wallflower

7, Ordinary People

8, Taxi Driver

9, The War At Home

10, First Blood

11, The Edge Of Love

12, Grand Toreno

13, Jackknife

14, Red Dragon

15, The Fisher King

My eyebrows are hurting because I kept waiting to see the ones we know. They aren't there. They do not call it PTSD when they show flashbacks, nightmares, mood swings, or emotional turmoil by characters unable to leave the past in the past. Yet, once you read this list, if you come across a movie you have seen, you'll never think of the movie the same way again when you go back and watch it.

The Best Years Of Our Lives

The Robe

The Messenger

Season Of The Witch

It's A Wonderful Life

Jimmy Stewart brought his demon with him into the role after WWII.

EXCLUSIVE: How Jimmy Stewart's agony in It's a Wonderful Life came from extreme PTSD he suffered after he lost 130 of his men as a fighter pilot in WWII

Actor Jimmy Stewart was haunted by his memories from his time in the Air Force and suffered from PTSD when he returned from World War II

Stewart wrestled with the guilt of killing civilians in bomb raids over France and Germany and felt responsible for the death of his comrades

Stewart never talked about his struggles and bottled up his emotions

But they came out when acting parts he chose when he returned to Hollywood

He tapped into his emotional distress during the filming of It's a Wonderful Life, where his character George Bailey unravels in front of his family

Stewart's anguish is laid bare for the first time in Mission: Jimmy Stewart and the fight for Europe by author Robert Matzen (read more here)

I bet there are even more you may be thinking about right now. Any movie with nightmares of things that have been or flashbacks will have a reason for that being in the script. Use your inner PTSD couch critic and let other people you know see what you see, so they will be able to recognize the demons in the eyes of others. Then maybe we can all decide that there is no reason to hide the battles we fight since they are all watching these movies as entertainment.

If you are involved with church people, then read the Psalms with fresh eyes and you'll find it there too!

Kathie Costos Author of Ministers Of The Mystery The Scribe Of Salem