Binary phenomenon of hope: perceptions of traumatized veterans.

This is the second article in a phenomenological study of hope among 10 Israeli reserve soldiers with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder. The aim of the second analysis was to learn about the veterans' conceptualization of hope. The picture of hope that emerges from the analysis of their interviews is of a binary phenomenon in which hope develops but may also be arrested, is conscious but also unconscious, and strengthens the individual but may also weaken one.

Posttraumatic stress disorder patients' experiences of hope.

In this qualitative study we examined the experience and perception of hope of 10 Israeli soldiers with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with the goal of achieving an understanding of the manners in which hope intertwines with trauma. The results indicate that hope is an integrative, changing, multidimensional phenomenon which plays a unique role in the individual's life. Viewing hope as a crucial aspect of human life was further evident when participants referred to the traumatic event.