Narrative Inquiry as a Research Methodology: Discovering Meaning From the Stories of Canadian Veterans Diagnosed With PTSD (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder)

Abstract

The US National Center for PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) (2013) discusses PTSD as the reaction to a life threatening event or trauma, resulting in reactions such as insomnia and/or recollection of upsetting memories may not go away or get worse. This paper will examine combat/war-induced PTSD in veterans, society's socialization to PTSD by the media, and describe the implications of this disorder on the Canadian veterans' quality of life.Significant themes associated with the military culture such as masculinity and stigma, and veteran's particular experiences with PTSD, will also be discussed. In this paper, the author will introduce the qualitative research methodology of narrative inquiry and its suitability to examining the unique male military population, a population that has been depicted as an overly masculinized one that personifies hegemonic masculinity and veterans diagnosed with PTSD.