The Zen and the Damaged

Given: If there’s one question besides “Who should this character hook up with?” guaranteed to start a fervent, polarized, opinionated fandom discussion, it’s “What Hogwarts house should this character be in?”

On October 2, 2007, TCR flashed briefly into an alternate universe. The Wørd: Troops Out Now. The host: a pipe-smoking long-haired peacenik hippie version of the straightlaced conservative character we know and love.

An exchange with a psych major who was struck by this analysis, and emailed to ask about…well, you’ll see.

What follows is the result of a whole lot of reading on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Rather than a full-fledged essay, it’s the raw material for one: excerpts of the most interesting and relevant material, with notes on how it applies to “Stephen”.