POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER

BY: TORI MULLEN

DEXTER MORGAN:

FATHER, HUSBAND, BROTHER, AND

SERIAL KILLER

DEXTER MORGAN• AGE: BORN FEBRUARY 1, 1971. EARLY 40’S

• OCCUPATION: FORENSIC BLOOD ANALYST AT THE MIAMI-METRO POLICE DEPARTMENT

IN HIS SPARE TIME DEXTER IS SERIAL KILLER BUT HE ONLY KILLS MURDERS BASED OFF OF HARRY, HIS FATHER’S CODE.

• USES M99 WHICH IS AN ANIMAL TRANQUILIZER TO INCAPACITATE HIS VICTIMS.

• TRAITS:

LIAR ALWAYS PLANS AHEAD

UNEMOTIONAL MANIPULATIVE

ALWAYS ANXIOUS

POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) IS A MENTAL DISORDER THAT OCCURS AFTER AN EMOTIONAL AND TRAUMATIC EVENT.

DISORDER: POST TRAUMATIC STRESS

DISORDER

CAUSES

“BORN IN BLOOD”

• WHEN DEXTER WAS JUST A BABY HE WITNESSED HIS MOTHER BEING BRUTALLY MURDERED. HIS MOTHER WAS MURDERED WITH A CHAIN SAW ALONG WITH 3 OTHER DRUG ADDICTS IN A STORAGE CONTAINER WHERE DEXTER AND HIS BROTHER WERE FOUND IN A POOL OF THEIR MOTHER’S BLOOD AFTER BEING THERE FOR 2 DAYS.

• DEXTER’S SON, HARRISON ALSO WITNESSED HIS MOTHER, DEXTER’S WIFE RITA BEING MURDERED.

“BORN IN BLOOD... BOTH OF US. HARRY WAS RIGHT. I THOUGHT I COULD CHANGE WHAT I AM, KEEP MY FAMILY SAFE. BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT I DO, WHAT I CHOOSE. I'M WHAT'S WRONG. THIS IS FATE.”

HTTP://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=Y7GX1HLH1SY

START AT 1:27

• EMOTIONALLY CUT OFF FROM OTHERS

• THINKS HE IS ALWAYS IN DANGER OF BEING CAUGHT

• ALWAYS THINKS SOMETHING BAD WILL HAPPEN

• ANXIOUS/ JITTERY

• HIS MIND IS ALWAYS RACING

• CAN’T RELATE TO OTHERS PROBLEMS WHICH PUTS A STRAIN ON HIS MARRIAGE AND RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS KIDS

• FLASHBACKS OF MOTHER’S DEATH AND OF HIS WIFE, RITA’S DEATH

• ENJOYS BEING ALONE

• INTERNAL FEELINGS OF EMPTINESS

SYMPTOMS

EMOTIONALLY CUT OFF FROM OTHERS

• DEXTER STARTED DATING RITA AS A PART OF HIS DISGUISE AND AFTER RITA BECOMES PREGNANT, THEY DECIDE TO GET MARRIED. DEXTER USES ALL OF THIS AS PART OF HIS DISGUISE OF THE “PERFECT FAMILY”.

• WHEN DEXTER FINDS RITA’S DEAD BODY HE SHOWS ALMOST NO EMOTION AND DOESN’T EVEN SHED A TEAR WHEN HE HAS TO TELL HIS STEPCHILDREN THAT THEIR MOTHER IS DEAD.

HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=MH7LJXU7CL0

ALWAYS BELIEVES HE IS IN DANGER OF BEING CAUGHT

• DEXTER IS ALWAYS MAKING PRECAUTIONS TO TRY AND MAKE SURE THAT HE ISN’T CAUGHT. HE DELETES MANY SURVEILLANCE TAPES, KILLS PEOPLE (ACCIDENTALLY AND ON PURPOSE), AND TAMPERS WITH A LOT OF EVIDENCE FROM MANY, MANY CASES.

THE KILL ROOM

TREATMENT

THERAPY! LOTS AND LOTS OF THERAPY

• AS YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED, DEXTER HAS BEEN THROUGH A LOT OF EMOTIONALLY TRAUMATIC EVENTS. HE SHOULD GO TO COGNITIVE BEHAVIOR THERAPY. THIS TYPE OF THERAPY WOULD ALLOW DEXTER TO LEARN BEHAVIORAL TECHNIQUES FOR RELAXATION AND WAYS TO FOSTER ANXIETY.

OTHER TREATMENT

MEDICATION:

• A MEDICATION THAT WOULD BE GOOD FOR DEXTER TO TAKE WOULD BE A SELECTIVE-SEROTONIN REUPTAKE INHIBITOR (SSRI) SUCH AS PROZAC OR ZOLOFT. THESE MEDICATIONS HELP MODIFY THE LEVELS OF NEUROTRANSMITTERS THAT ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR COMMUNICATION BETWEEN CELLS.

• AN ANTIPSYCHOTIC WOULD ALSO BE VERY HELPFUL FOR DEXTER.