PTSD From Wedding Day
Recently, a newlywed has hired a New York personal injury lawyer to represent her in a case involving risqué pictures that were taken before her wedding reports the NY Daily News. Apparently, her photographer snapped some shots of the bride in her undies getting into her dress then posted them on her website.
The bride even told the photographer not to take pictures while she was putting on the gown, but as the suits says, "Monstra took photographs of plaintiff's person in her underwear and in various stages of undress anyway" (NY Daily News).
It seems like her New York personal injury lawyer has more than enough to work with from ignoring the customer's wishes and posting images in public that make her uncomfortable and mortified; however, the keyword of the suit is that the bride developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from the ordeal.
As a recent bride, I understand how stressful the big day can be. The amount of panic that goes into "Which three appetizers can I choose that will please all 150 people?" is enough to make you elope, but PTSD, really? Unless there were grenades going off during the vows and a gunman held the in-laws hostage (depending on the in-laws), I don't see how PTSD could have developed.
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) defines PSTD as "an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened." Is having a picture of you in your skivvies terrifying? Yes, it could be. But, does the event have you in fear for your life? Only if you look so good that other jealous brides would want to attack you so that they would look better by comparison.
The photographer is in the wrong for so many things here, and if the bride had toned it down to emotional distress there would really be no question about it, but plaintiffs often claim a laundry list of damages, so we'll see which ones stick.
In my opinion, the big day is supposed to be stressful. You are taking the big leap into forever, so who wouldn't be nervous? You have spent months, maybe even years, planning every small detail, so if the tiniest thing goes wrong it could feel like your day is ruined.
"Ahhhh! The florist brought me off-white roses instead of egg-shells roses that no one will be able to tell apart anyway. This is an omen that this marriage is doomed!"
I can see how it's easy to overreact in regards to the wedding day, but even though we may feel like wedding warriors battling for perfection, there is a big (and obvious) difference between anxious nerves and PTSD symptoms.
NIMH goes on to list possible triggers including, "violent personal assaults, natural or human-caused disasters, accidents, or military combat." Hmmm.... no bad photos. NIMH must have made a typo.