After a traumatic experience takes place, an individual may lose self-image, and his or her views on the world may change. The person may feel that there is no point in living anymore, and engage in activities they normally would not. As well as the many psychological effects of a traumatic situation, several physical effects may occur. A person's sexual life may be affected, and he/she may resort to alcohol or other drugs to dull the memory. Many of these reactions listed are in one way or another connected. For instance, if a person suffers a reoccurring nightmare, it may induce fear into their everyday life. This in turn may convince the person that they have a serious problem and lose confidence in themselves. .
Yossarian, the main character in Catch 22, has to constantly deal with bureaucratic nonsense during World War II. Being a bombardier in an American bomber squadron, he was face-to-face with death many times, due to the idiotic nature the squadron was run in. Since he was ordered to go along on many bombing missions, he was constantly faced with anti-aircraft fire, flak, and risk of mechanical failure. Yossarian witnessed the deaths of several people, has seen dead bodies, and heard all about many other gruesome tales of death. After all of this, Yossarian had enough, he complained of a pain in his liver, and was then admitted into an Italian military hospital. This action can be recognized as avoidance, a symptom of PTSD. The fact that Yossarian evaded situations that would place him in positions that would recall the memories of lost friends and other deaths, shows that he realizes what is happening and does not want to live with it anymore. This action of avoidance is a main defense for victims of PTSD, since it does not allow them to live the action through again after being reminded of that painful experience. Yossarian does many other things in order to avoid dangerous situations, such as, when he was supposed to fly with a bomber squadron, and before the bombers got to there destination, they landed and let Yossarian off, leaving him to lay on the beach while they completed the mission.
