Multiple places describe Shadow the Hedgehog as specifically traumatized by the ARK massacre.
Many times in the games we see flashbacks of the event along with Shadow, instead of completely non-diagetically. Firstly being in the Dark Story in Sonic Adventure 2, where the sound of police sirens makes Shadow remember the incident. Other situations throughout the game make him flash back to Maria, one unlocking memories that had been locked away.
A specific moment in Sonic X has Rouge the Bat mention Maria’s name, which sends Shadow into an episode.
I describe it as an episode because although it’s only vaguely described in the above images, it’s highly implied that Shadow has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) specifically.
The moment above connects with symptoms given by Arlington Family Practice: “Often, the severe emotional distress triggers a physical response that may result in chills, headaches, shaking, or a sudden panic attack.”
According to Mayo Clinic, here are some of the symptoms of PTSD that have applied to Shadow throughout Modern and X canons:
Recurrent, unwanted distressing memories of the traumatic event
Reliving the traumatic event as if it were happening again (flashbacks)
Unlike the other flashback level (“The Doom”) which was caused by Black Doom, “Lost Impact” came up on it’s own, triggered by alarm sounds, where you literally play through the event although it happens in the past. Like the other moments, Shadow also literally relives this.
Upsetting dreams or nightmares about the traumatic event
Severe emotional distress or physical reactions to something that reminds one of the traumatic event
Negative thoughts about oneself–
–other people, or the world
Difficulty maintaining close relationships and feeling detached from family and friends
Difficulty experiencing positive emotions
Always being on guard for danger
Self-destructive behavior
Irritability, angry outbursts or aggressive behavior
and overwhelming guilt or shame
Along with this, it seems a common trigger that’s happened at least twice has been alarms/sirens (As seen above from Sonic Adventure 2 and Shadow the Hedgehog). Another trigger seems to be people who look like/remind him of Maria specifically, along with phrasing that was used by her in her last moments, though this mostly shows up in the Sonic Adventure 2 time frame.
I couldn’t include every instance for examples, not only because in 21 years of Shadow is there a lot, but there’s a 30 image limit which I barely loop-holed.
If anything is incorrect or offensive please let us know.
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