POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS
DISORDER
BY: TORI MULLEN
DEXTER MORGAN:
SERIAL KILLER
FATHER, HUSBAND, BROTHER,
AND
DEXTER MORGAN
• AGE: BORN FEBRUARY 1, 1971. EARLY 40’S
• OCCUPATION: FORENSIC BLOOD ANALYST AT THE MIAMI-METRO
POLICE DEPARTMENT
IN HIS SPARE TIME DEXTER IS SERIAL KILLER BUT HE ONLY KILLS
MURDERS BASED OFF OF HARRY, HIS FATHER’S CODE.
• USES M99 WHICH IS AN ANIMAL TRANQUILIZER TO INCAPACITATE
HIS VICTIMS.
• TRAITS:
LIAR
ALWAYS PLANS AHEAD
UNEMOTIONAL
MANIPULATIVE
ALWAYS ANXIOUS
DISORDER: POST TRAUMATIC
STRESS DISORDER
POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD)
IS A MENTAL DISORDER THAT OCCURS
AFTER AN EMOTIONAL AND TRAUMATIC
EVENT.
CAUSES
“BORN IN BLOOD”
• WHEN DEXTER WAS JUST A BABY HE WITNESSED HIS MOTHER BEING
BRUTALLY MURDERED. HIS MOTHER WAS MURDERED WITH A CHAIN
SAW ALONG WITH 3 OTHER DRUG ADDICTS IN A STORAGE
CONTAINER WHERE DEXTER AND HIS BROTHER WERE FOUND IN A
POOL OF THEIR MOTHER’S BLOOD AFTER BEING THERE FOR 2 DAYS.
• DEXTER’S SON, HARRISON ALSO WITNESSED HIS MOTHER, DEXTER’S
WIFE RITA BEING MURDERED.
“BORN IN BLOOD... BOTH OF US. HARRY WAS RIGHT. I THOUGHT I COULD
CHANGE WHAT I AM, KEEP MY FAMILY SAFE. BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER
WHAT I DO, WHAT I CHOOSE. I'M WHAT'S WRONG. THIS IS FATE.”
HTTP://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=Y7GX1HLH1SY
START AT 1:27
SYMPTOMS
• EMOTIONALLY CUT OFF FROM OTHERS
• THINKS HE IS ALWAYS IN DANGER OF BEING CAUGHT
• ALWAYS THINKS SOMETHING BAD WILL HAPPEN
• ANXIOUS/ JITTERY
• HIS MIND IS ALWAYS RACING
• CAN’T RELATE TO OTHERS PROBLEMS WHICH PUTS A STRAIN ON HIS
MARRIAGE AND RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS KIDS
• FLASHBACKS OF MOTHER’S DEATH AND OF HIS WIFE, RITA’S DEATH
• ENJOYS BEING ALONE
• INTERNAL FEELINGS OF EMPTINESS
EMOTIONALLY CUT OFF FROM OTHERS
• DEXTER STARTED DATING RITA AS A PART OF HIS DISGUISE AND AFTER
RITA BECOMES PREGNANT, THEY DECIDE TO GET MARRIED. DEXTER
USES ALL OF THIS AS PART OF HIS DISGUISE OF THE “PERFECT
FAMILY”.
• WHEN DEXTER FINDS RITA’S DEAD BODY HE SHOWS ALMOST NO
EMOTION AND DOESN’T EVEN SHED A TEAR WHEN HE HAS TO TELL
HIS STEPCHILDREN THAT THEIR MOTHER IS DEAD.
HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=MH7LJXU7CL0
ALWAYS BELIEVES HE IS IN DANGER OF
BEING CAUGHT
• DEXTER IS ALWAYS MAKING PRECAUTIONS TO TRY AND MAKE SURE
THAT HE ISN’T CAUGHT. HE DELETES MANY SURVEILLANCE TAPES,
KILLS PEOPLE (ACCIDENTALLY AND ON PURPOSE), AND TAMPERS
WITH A LOT OF EVIDENCE FROM MANY, MANY CASES.
THE KILL ROOM
TREATMENT
THERAPY! LOTS AND LOTS OF THERAPY
• AS YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED, DEXTER HAS BEEN THROUGH A LOT OF
EMOTIONALLY TRAUMATIC EVENTS. HE SHOULD GO TO COGNITIVE
BEHAVIOR THERAPY. THIS TYPE OF THERAPY WOULD ALLOW DEXTER
TO LEARN BEHAVIORAL TECHNIQUES FOR RELAXATION AND WAYS TO
FOSTER ANXIETY.
OTHER TREATMENT
MEDICATION:
• A MEDICATION THAT WOULD BE GOOD FOR DEXTER TO TAKE
WOULD BE A SELECTIVE-SEROTONIN REUPTAKE INHIBITOR (SSRI) SUCH
AS PROZAC OR ZOLOFT. THESE MEDICATIONS HELP MODIFY THE
LEVELS OF NEUROTRANSMITTERS THAT ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR
COMMUNICATION BETWEEN CELLS.
• AN ANTIPSYCHOTIC WOULD ALSO BE VERY HELPFUL FOR DEXTER.