What is medical term for such a mental condition?

Question

I am writing a horror novel. Two little boys witness the brutal murder of one of their parents. However, while they cannot talk about it, one of the boys draws a picture depicting how the murder took place. Is there a medical term that describes such a condition that affects a person mentally like this and if so what are the details of it. I will need the help of psychiatrist on this one.

Answer 1

You mean they can't talk?

Conversion Disorder; physical symptoms caused by anxiety or mental trauma, can include blindness, etc. It's a rare condition, but it's supposedly real.

PTSD is an extreme reaction to trauma and results in repeated dreams or visions of the event. Being struck mute is not one of the symptoms, although someone might be emotionally "blunted."

There's also Selective Mutism (also called Elective Mutism) where people (usually children) don't talk in certain situations even though they can. It's supposed to be anxiety related but I never heard of that being caused by trauma.

Answer 2

Selective mutism.
A lot of the sources you'll find for this are limited as its not a very publicly aware condition.
It will be hard to find the right information as well on this but http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_mutism
http://www.selectivemutismfoundation.org/about.shtml
are good sources to start on.
And not all psychiatrists will know about this, you'll need to speak to one that specialises in selective mutism or childhood anxiety disorders, to get the most helpful and accurate information.
A lot of myths with this disorder is that its not caused from trauma. Although the exact cause is unknown, because different cases vary, in my case it was due to trauma.
I was also encouraged to draw pictures as a form of therapy and for a way for me to say what i needed to say.
And, although most children with SM, do usually have a few very close family members and or friends they do talk to, it depends on the severity of the child to how much they even do say or express to these close people.
In some very rare and extreme cases it can cause complete mutism, but im not sure how extreme your characters are, if they are completely mute? or if they have close people they do talk to, but only to an extent? or if they can freely talk to anyone, just not about the events?
So I'd need to know more or you'd need to speak to a specialist for a more in depth and accurate diagnosis and description, depending on how much you needed to know for your book.
And also the movie, Don't say a word, could be of some help, the girl in it suffers from selective mutism/ post traumatic stress. Plot summaries on the net say she has post traumatic stress but in the actual movie they say she has selective mutism.

Answer 3

It's call post-traumatic stress disorder. You can find some info on-line about PTSD, but you would be best off talking to a trauma counselor or therapist. Most psychiatrists manage medication, and PTSD itself doesn't really respond to meds.

Answer 4

post traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD)