"Drenched in Self Doubt": Phenomenological Moods and Belief Styles in PTSD

Anticipatory styles predict how one’s world will behave based off the embodied, pre-reflective, and interpersonal sense of the world around them. In seeking to elucidate this principle in those that suffer from trauma, belief formation was selected as a means to explore epistemic trust and potential alterations, as shown by clinical explorations of these theoretical principles. This study met with seven participants that were diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder and asked how their symptoms impact the way they form or change beliefs. Experiences were investigated using the existential phenomenological approach. The analysis presented themes such as how hypervigilance and interoception led to isolation, how attempts at coping contributed to mindset, and how these mindsets became ways of perceiving their new place in the reality of living with posttraumatic stress disorder. Treatment implications, future directions, and limitations are provided.