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carbela-nation · 12 days ago

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Beautiful individual we are so in sync it is sickening ouhh do trust Carmen's issues WILL be affecting her relationship with Isabela... ohh I have plans I cannot share with tumblr but ily Carmen fandom even though you scare me

CPTSD in Carmen Sandiego

(CPSTD: Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)

Let me start with a TRIGGER WARNING for mentions of verbal and physical abuse, potentially triggering mental illness symptoms, mentions of violence, etc.

Considerations

So some of you may be aware I myself have PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). Mine acts mostly upon triggers (otherwise I have a functional day-to-day life), thus making it not properly diagnosable under the DSM-5 diagnosis criteria— however, I have had episodes that confirm this disorder between myself, a friend who has witnessed one, and my psychologist.

I am NOT eligible to make diagnoses, I have no official psychological training/higher education so please take my opinion as a suggestion and a harmless adventure into Carmen Sandiego’s character.

Please note CPTSD is not yet an officially diagnosable disorder and does not have a lot of research on it yet. I myself have a limited understanding on it so bear with me.

If you feel you may disagree with me or get uncomfortable as per the trigger warnings above at any point, please feel free to click off and/or come talk to me.

I will be investigating:

Definitions

- PTSD

- CPTSD

Symptoms

Discussion

Effects on the Brain

What Can You Do To Help?

Definitions

PTSD

As some of you may be aware, especially by its name, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a disorder characterised by extreme stress following a traumatic event— specifically the failure to recover after experiencing or witnessing a terrifying event.

Unfortunately I can’t think of any examples aside from myself so due to witnessing non-abusive things regarding alcoholism as a kid I now experience episodes or stress if I come into contact with someone intoxicated, as has happened before. I have tried to write this before a few times, but it has hurt me to the point where I have never made it into a story for you guys, and likely never will. The closest I have gotten to sharing my experience is the nightmare I had back in April (?) and turned into a CS fic. ‘Night Ghouls’, which can be considered a real symptom of my PTSD.

(Please be aware I am not looking for sympathy, I am not currently witnessing traumatic events and am doing better now, I am just trying to educate, I am no less of a person. Please don’t make me regret opening up).

This cannot be cured, only treated through talk-therapies, and for me possibly exposure therapy when I am older.

CPTSD

Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD), like PTSD, is categorised by extreme stress post a traumatic incident— however, CPTSD occurs from repeated trauma, and involves the same symptoms as well as more such as a change of identity and world view.

As someone with PTSD I know I do not have CPTSD because I do not have experience with significantly repeated traumas (I had multiple but they were minor & my mum passed away so it had a clear end before it could take up a large period of my life), nor has my personality (nor brain) manifested/changed severely as a result (maturation does not count).

(Though, it is worth noting that because of that situation that my older sister was exposed to for longer she developed BPD (borderline personality disorder) but that’s another story. And my sister sucks anyway).

Because CPTSD is not yet official or diagnosable/is still mostly in research it has been compared to disassociative PTSD for having similar symptoms.

SYMPTOMS

(PTSD Web Screenshot for a reminder of symptoms)

(Note that not all symptoms have to occur for diagnosis, and know that PTSD looks different in everyone. An example of fictional characters I suspect may have at least PTSD: Ellie (The Last of Us) Korra (Avatar) Hunter (The Owl House). I have not seen most of these shows, so I do not know enough about the characters to know whether they have something more complex).

Previously I have said I think Carmen Sandiego has PTSD, which I still stand by, however, upon learning more about CPTSD, I believe she may have something more severe.

Symptoms of PTSD and CPTSD are very similar, however CPTSD is considered the more complex version, and is not yet properly diagnosable, especially cuz symptoms take a long time to fully present.

Please also consider that for Carmen’s case, she is in a children’s show, and a lot of the symptoms I believe she exhibits can be considered only in fandom/do not have enough diagnosable recognition in canon. However, when you consider all of the traumatic events she has been through, I believe it is canonical that she has at least PTSD. Below are my suspicions/head-canons for Carmen.

Head-cannoned Symptoms For Carmen Sandiego (all relevant for PTSD and CPTSD):

- Insomnia (difficulty falling asleep & staying asleep)

- Anxiety

- Hypervigilance (please note paranoia is different and is not just “being paranoid” it refers to delusional beliefs that aren’t based on anything real. E.g., patients with schizophrenia may exhibit delusions that someone is out to get them. Carmen’s fear that VILE are out to get her throughout the show is not a delusion because it is real)

- Persistent nightmares (we see only one in canon, where Player mentions the word “again” without surprise which references the fact that nightmares are normal/frequent for Carmen)

- Flashbacks (post-brainwashing flashbacks do not count as they were not traumatic events, though they are the only canonical example)

- Negative responses to triggers (panic attacks, severe anxiety, or feelings of sadness or withdrawal. In canon Carmen is openly terrified whenever she interacts with/sees Coach Brunt, and is sad or distraught regarding hearing details of her past, though the second one can occur without CPTSD)

- Avoidance of places or people involved with trauma (Carmen refusing to return to VILE island & her terrors around being kidnapped, particularly when she finally was in the S4 finale)

CPTSD’s additional symptoms

- Altered world-view (“Stealing isn’t a game” Carmen feeling she needs to protect/preserve the world through its cultural artefacts was not an idea she started off with. There is chance for fandom to build on Carmen’s world view and say post series she feels betrayed and unsafe in the world due to her experiences)

- Emotional regulation (emotional outbursts, only example I can think of is Carmen yelling at Zack & Ivy during the Dubai caper)

- Identity and sense of self (Black Sheep vs Carmen Sandiego represent her diff. Identities but I will dig into that later. This is not backed up by canon but I head canon Carmen slowly becomes more insecure in her identity the more that happens to her— self-loathing because she was kidnapped and hurt so it must be her fault, and generally losing her sense of self and having all of this negativity intertwine with who she is. A sense of worthlessness is also common).

- Relationships (Carmen has struggled and felt abandoned/betrayed through her VILE relationships ever since she learnt the truth. She also abandoned her team post series in a way we as a fandom have disagreed with, so perhaps it was a CPTSD response— she didn’t know what to do so she ran away, thinking she may hurt them, as per her identity and sense of self issues).

- Impulsive behaviour is also common (Carmen left post series, this could be argued as an impulsive decision)

Examples:

Say you get into a car accident as a one time thing. Afterwards you may have minor post-traumatic stress and avoidance around getting into cars, driving cars, etc. (PTSD can also be more severe stress)

However, if you grew up in an environment that constantly let you down or repeatedly abused, neglected, or other over a long period, then you may experience a more severe response and experience a change in world view point, identity, how you view your perpetrator, their morals, their faith in others and even religious faith. Repeated traumatic events can upend how you view the world, and whether you still believe it can be good, and safe, which is what makes the recovery process so important. This would be an example of CPTSD.

DISCUSSION

Before I talk about Carmen, a very strong example of someone with Complex-PTSD is Jinx (and more) from Arcane, whose personality, morals, and world view completely changed after the traumas she endured. As a child going by the name Powder she was scared to fight or hurt other people— but as teenage Jinx many years later she has a massive kill count and believes (likely due to Silco’s influence) when people die they go somewhere better, therefore making what she does moral in her eyes. Due to the trauma and separation both Jinx and Vi experience their recoveries and changes in personalities/beliefs are greatly influenced by environment, leading them to end up on opposite sides of the war (Vi becomes an enforcer which she once said she would never become. Jinx still despises enforcers). Jinx is also great because in season 2 (SPOILERS) we see the version of her that grew up without trauma and can see how different she behaves.

I don’t feel like digging into specific canon evidence at the moment so here are some very obvious reminders and examples of repeated trauma in Carmen’s life:

- Her multiple interactions with Brunt following her betrayal where her life is openly threatened and she suffers verbal and physical abuse.

- There is also the brainwashing, that greatly distorts Carmen’s brain, personality & memories, though canon does a poor job at representing this traumatic aftermath.

- She also has family trauma— growing up thinking she was abandoned then realising the people she was raised by actually killed her dad and ruined her family is definitely a traumatic thing to have to come to terms with— especially her trying so hard to find her mum and having to give up at times, then to nearly achieve it only to get brainwashed would have definitely put a lot of stress on her person.

I think Carmen may have CPTSD/would be great for representation of this disorder because she not only follows the cause of CPTSD (repeated long-term violence), but she has also already experienced minor personality and belief changes that divide Black Sheep from Carmen Sandiego and I think she has the capacity for more— specifically depending on how her post series recovery goes.

E.g., if she recovers with her mother and keeps in contact with her team she may suffer less, and be able to feel safer again/find her mother’s home and Argentina to be a kind of safe place. However, if she runs off on her own post series that isolation will allow her negative feelings to manifest and for her general person to derail (untreated CPTSD, essentially).

I also wish to point out Carmen’s distancing from her previous identity more and more throughout the show (Black Sheep). Black Sheep represents someone naive, immature, and childish. Carmen Sandiego represents “the perfect thief”, she has greatly matured since her trauma (please note I matured too and I only have PTSD), and isn’t afraid to go against VILE.

(If you are interested on a fic related to Black Sheep vs Carmen Sandiego I’m reminded of my fic Waterlogged which is tagged at the end)

I also think Carmen has a fear of failure (not a phobia because her fear is rational) particularly due to learning what happens when she messes up (the interactive special really digs into this— because Zack and Ivy are harmed or saved based on Carmen’s decisions)

I personally think that if the brainwashing event happened in real life or was more properly represented for mental health, Carmen would simply not be the same person after everything she has been through. Maybe she struggles to recognise herself, or her team do, hence leading to her separation from them at the end of the show.

Overall, I don’t think Carmen will ever be able to fully recover from what was done to her, and will never fully regain her sense of security/safety in the world.

EFFECTS ON THE BRAIN

Complex-PTSD or PTSD is associated with a lot of electrical activity in the brain due to this constant state of fight or flight which is not at all sustainable or healthy for the human brain.

As a result of this excess electrical activity, CPTSD has been associated with seizures— particularly absence seizures (Petit Mal). Absence seizures are difficult to diagnose/recognise as there are no physical movements nor shaking as typically associated with seizures— rather, in these a participant appears to stop responding and “blank out”. These episodes can be mistaken for zoning out, however they cannot be interrupted, and the person loses control and awareness for a period. This is a result of excess electricity in the brain impacting not physically but rather behaviourally and emotionally and can be mistaken for the “freeze response” to trauma. Participant is unaware they have had a seizure after one. They only typically last a few seconds, depending on the case.

(Reading dyslexia sucks so I haven’t been able to find out more at this time but here’s the link I was trying to use!)

Player, in the middle of a geography quiz with Carmen post series: aaand the capital of Argentina is? Red go!

Carmen, looking blankly, slightly rocking:

Player: Red? It’s your turn

Ivy, lightly shaking her knee: Boss?

Carmen, coming back (not thanks to the shaking), blinking:

Player: …Red?

Carmen, looking back at him: yeah?

Player: I asked you a question

Carmen, blinking: no you didn’t

Player: …

It is possible for one person to have more than one type of seizure, which leads me into my next point…

The lovely @frozenwolftemplar has a series on ao3 of post series Carmen experiencing seizures as a result of the ACME device used on her head (not at all related to CPTSD). So it also isn’t a completely new theory that post series Carmen may suffer excess electrical activity in her brain thus leading to seizures (I seriously recommend reading her fics they are so good & linked at the bottom). Perhaps she should even consider introducing some Petit Mal to the mix :))

(I just have the image of Shadowsan slowly getting more worried & keeping tabs on whenever Carmen does the zoning out thingy after the trivia incident. Cuz it could have easily gone unnoticed until it started happening during conversation, or when she’s in the middle of an activity, etc (esp since she zones out a lot in your first fic Froz— on the couch watching the vents blow if I’m correct). He encourages her to let him bring it up with the ACME doctor and she doesn’t agree until they catch a video of one of them and Carmen is a little freaked out or just confused— she doesn’t remember doing that. Was it really a big deal? Then their faces and the atmosphere plummeting upon realising Carmen has two types of seizures)

And that’s me done!

What Can You Do To Help?

- Treat the person normally, if there’s anything I hate it’s being put down for my disorders. Treat people how you want to be treated, and do not “pity” them, that is really annoying.

- Be compassionate, let them know you care and lend a listening ear.

- Get educated, reading a random blog on Tumblr does not count lol.

- Refer them to support facilities and help them find proper help rather than trying to take it on yourself. Don’t push them, just encourage the choice but at the end of the day it is their choice.

- And donate to mental health research facilities 🩷

Here is one of the main sources I used:

Fics I mentioned throughout:

Night Ghouls: (Real PTSD nightmare)

Waterlogged: (Some Black Sheep vs Carmen)

FrozenWing’s seizure series (SO GOOD!):

- And Froz’s companion fic:

Thanks for listening to me ramble… that was really long 😭

#carmen sandiego

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