Response to Betsy

Betsy:
1. "Does your body suffer from exposure to traumatic fiction?"
2. "Does your body suffer from exposure to traumatic non-fiction"

I will preface this by saying that I do not know the science that would be involved here. Rather I do not know very well the science involved here.

I think that the same answer would be applicable to both questions here and that is: I think that you body CAN suffer from such exposure yes, though perhaps the probability is increased for traumatic non-fiction.

Symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder often affect and PTSD has been known to present even when the subject was himself or herself not even harmed. Witnessing a traumatic event has been known to cause PTSD and therefore bodily damage. Our ability to empathize with fiction, if strong enough, I think, could elicit such a response. This empathy, of course, is stronger and more likely with non-fiction.

Question: Since we can suffer by exposure to certain fictions and non-fiction, can we equally benefit from others?