Informative Speech

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Taleah Schumann
10/14/2020

Informative Speech: Audience Assessment

Specific Goal:​ ​My audience will understand (or learn or realize or become acquainted with) the difference between complex and
comorbid PTSD.

PTSD comes in different forms, but should be treated with the same amount of respect. 
 
My Narrowed Topic:
a. ​Strategy​: I’ll teach my topic by explanation and definition.

b. Narrow Focus​: T​ ​he focus of your speech must be narrow enough for a five –minute “post-hole” (narrow but deep) speech.
Narrow your topic ​twice​ (choose one of your points and turn that into your entire speech).

Original topic: PTSD

Narrower topic: Different forms of PTSD
Even narrower topic: Complex vs Comorbid PTSD (use this for your speech topic)

Ethos: -Primary Ethos: I have a lot of military in my family and people who have gone through such traumatic experiences that
they have altered how they look at the world and treat others.

-Secondary Ethos​: I will cite 3 expert references.

KT Brady- Scholar researcher
Janine Flory- Professor of Psychiatrist at Icahn School of Medicine
T Schub- Researcher for multiple medical institutes

Audience Knowledge Level​: Most audience members have little knowledge of the topic.

Adaptation to Audience Knowledge​: I will help my audience understand my topic by explaining and talking through examples.

Pattern of Organization:​ ​ I’ll use a topic pattern of organization.

 Informative Speech: Full Sentence Outline

Comorbid vs Complex PTSD

Introduction:
[​Your entire introduction for a five-minute speech should last no more than 30 seconds.]

I. Hook: There once was a man who joined the Navy in 1999. Little did the Navy know they were recruiting one of the most
deadly snipers in American History. Chris Kyle went on to serve 4 terms in Iraq and have about 160 confirmed kills. Thankfully he
was never KIA's over in Iraq. This allowed him time to watch his children grow and help other veterans as much as he could. On
the fateful day of February 3, 2013, Chris Kyle was shot at a shooting range by a former Marine by the name of Eddie Ray Routh.
Mr. Routh suffered from PTSD and unfortunately went through a flashback and presumed Chris as the enemy and shot him.

II. Thesis​: Living with PTSD is not easy, but knowing the difference between the two most common forms will hopefully give you a
better understanding why people who suffer from this disease do the things they do.

III. Preview​:
1. What do the definitions mean?
2. What are some examples of each?
3. How can you help someone who suffers from these diseases?

Transition​:

Talking about such a huge topic is never fun, but it’s something that needs to be understood so let’s start with what they
even mean.

Body
**​ Include at least one authoritative source, cited out loud, in each main point** Bold your sources.
In each main point, provide variety… at least three ​different​ t​ ypes​ of supporting points. Use some of each: reference, example,
mini-story, testimony, fact, statistic, comparison, historical background, and the like.

I. Defining something as difficult as a mental illness is never easy and can often feel wrong. But having a pretty good general
definition can actually be really helpful when dealing with it.
A. What even is PTSD? A lot of us think of traumatic events, life altering, things like that. If that is what you think, then
you would be correct.
i. PTSD, according to the CINAHL Nursing, is a syndrome that occurs in response to directly or indirectly
experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event.
b. About 70% of people go through traumatic experiences, but only 10% actually develop PTSD
ii. The risk is very high in people who have been in wars, natural disasters, victims of assault, and a very common
one which is childhood abuse.
B. So now with a refresher of what PTSD is, let's move on to what complex PTSD is.
i. Complex PTSD is what is referred to as the continuum of experience of chronic trauma for years. PTSD is
actually very commonly very prevalent for a short amount of time, but when it goes past whatever diagnoses
your doctor gave you, it can be classified as complex PTSD.
ii. It is common though when dealing with more intense trauma, that PTSD changes into complex very fast as
doctors cannot really put a very good general timeline on how long it will take a person to heal.
C. What is comorbid PTSD?
1. Comorbid PTSD is when you suffer from PTSD and also other mental disorders.
2. The most common ones are depression and anxiety. According to NCBI, which is a health institute, over half of
people who suffer from PTSD also suffer from depression as well. It can only be classified as comorbid if the
symptoms overlap each other.

Transition: ​Knowing definitions are one thing, but understanding examples is what most people actually want.

II. Complex PTSD examples are very dark comparatively.

A. Examples of complex PTSD are very violent. A lot of abuse cases, child neglect, serious battles in any war where a lot
of death is prevalent.
 i. If you experience any of these at a young age you are more susceptible to getting complex
ii. Prostituition os human trafficking is a huge leader in complex PTSD as escape from those things is very
unlikely.
B. Examples of comorbid PTSD
i. Examples of this are if you suffer from a brain injury due to a trauma and now have to work back to living
everyday life on your own.
ii. And of course you already have previous disorders.
C. [Additional supporting points as needed.]

[​Transition​…] Now how do you help someone going through this?

III. Some things you can do to help someone are...

A. Be a good support system.
i. Go to doctor visits with them and, university of Michigan
ii. Plan things with them that are okay with them so they have less time to be alone and fall into that hole.
B. A common symptom of PTSD is very violent behaviour.
i. Make sure that everyone, especially kids, are in a safe place and call for help.
ii. When talking to the person do not use “you” statements as it can feel attacking to them and might cause
another flare up.
C.

[​Transition to close: ​In conclusion,....

Conclusion:

I. Summarize main points/thesis: ​PTSD is no joke. Knowing the difference though and respecting these differences is a good
step in the direction of helping those who suffer from it.
II. Bookend​: ​Many people have been affected by PTSD in some way or another. Due to society just now paying attention to
just how serious mental health really is, people like Chris Kyle and many others could have been saved if we had done more
research a lot earlier and searched for healthy ways to handle PTSD.
III. End the speech memorably: ​Just like we have all heard, you never know what someone is going through. So I encourage
you today to take a minute and send someone a text about how much you appreciate them or ask someone in person how
they are and really listen. You never know when a simple question is everything a person needs to fight just a little bit
longer.

References:
Brady, K. ​Comorbidity of psychiatric disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder. (1).
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10795606/

Flory, J. Comorbidity between post-traumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder: alternative explanations and
treatment considerations. (1). ​https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4518698/

Helping a Family Member Who Has PTSD. (n.d.). Retrieved October 19, 2020, from
https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/af1005spec

Schub, T. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Military Personnel. (1).

http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.libprox1.slcc.edu:2048/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=2&sid=f37c58c2-af44-47d1-8968-26c8a0
c9126a%40pdc-v-sessmgr02

VA.gov: Veterans Affairs. (2007, January 01). Retrieved October 19, 2020, from
https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/treat/essentials/complex_ptsd.asp