Em seu livro Robert Ludlum: Um companheiro crítico , Gina MacDonald extrai O Manual Diagnóstico e Estatístico da Associação Psiquiátrica Americana para discutir o desenvolvimento do autor Ludlum das causas e sintomas de doenças de Webb / Bourne (p 134-135).
Bourne is the deadly alter ego that Webb assumed to survive the jungle warfare in Vietnam and Cambodia as a member of the Medusa Brigade; in times of stress this alter ego surfaces and the gentle Webb recedes. Unfortunately, Webb will never rid himself of the results of his initial trauma unless he can destroy the cause of retraumatization, specifically, the Jackal. The series explores Bourne’s progression: amnesia and a divided personality resulting from debilitating psychological responses to trauma, then retraumatization, treatment, and gradual progress toward normality, followed by retraumatization, and a final working out of conflict that may result in a reintegrated, whole personality…
Ludlum, drawing on the expertise of relatives in the medical profession, provides plentiful details about causes, symptoms, and retraumatization…
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) [is] a constellation of characteristic symptoms that develop following a psychologically traumatic event… the immediate systematic responses include heart palpitations or tachycardia, cardiac uneasiness or pain, headaches, giddiness, dimness of vision, and general neurological upselt (exaggerated respiration, dilation of arteries, increased generation of adrenalin). The long-term effects include deep anxiety, depression, hysteria, dissociative reaction, depersonalization, neurasthenia, intense psychological distress when exposed to events resembling the initial trauma event,…intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, and nightmares. There may be a feeling of detachment or estrangement from others, difficulty sleeping, persistent irritability or anger, hypervigilance, exaggerated startle response, guilt, episodes of terror or panic, difficulties making decisions, and a feeling that one’s personality has changed. These are all effects that Webb/Bourne experiences at one time or another in the series.
Então, a resposta curta é PTSD.