A]...Diagnostic Criteria
The person has been exposed to a traumatic event in which both of the following were present:
1] The person experienced, witnessed, or was confronted with an event that involved actual or threatening sounds, or a threat to the mechanical integrity of their engine.
2] The person's response involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror. Note: In BITOG members, this may be expressed instead by disorganized or agitated behavior regarding non GC oil.
B]...The traumatic event is persistently reexperienced in one (or more) of the following ways:
1] Recurrent and intrusive distressing recollections of the event, including images, thoughts, or perceptions. Note: In BITOG members, repetitive listening to their engine idle while stopped at streetlights; This theme or aspect of the trauma are expressed.
2] Recurrent distressing dreams of the event. Note: In BITOG members, there may be frightening dreams without recognizable values on Gold Castrol UOA printouts. "A BLANK UOA printout???.....AAACHHHH!"
3] Acting or feeling as if the traumatic event were recurring (includes a sense of reliving the experience, illusions, hallucinations, and dissociative flashback episodes, including those that occur on awakening or when intoxicated). Note: In BITOG members, trauma-specific reenactment may occur, repeating "it smells like gummy bears...it smells like gummy bears".
4] Intense "psychological" distress at exposure to internal or external cues that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event. Many BITOG members have been found sitting back against a wall, chanting "its not green, its not green"
5] "Physiological reactivity" on exposure to internal or external cues that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event. A member may reveal rubbing the "gold" stuff all over their arms, swaying, chanting.
C]Persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma and numbing of general responsiveness (not present before the trauma), as indicated by three (or more) of the following:
1] Efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings, or conversations associated with a Gold Castrol UOA.
2] Efforts to avoid activities, places, or people that arouse recollections of anything green. (e.g, quitting golf)
3] Inability to recall an important aspect of the trauma (e.g, forgetting about St. Patrick's day.)
4] Markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities (e.g, Not wearing green on St. Patrick's day. Not watering the lawn)
5] Feeling of detachment or estrangement from all Keebler cookies and crackers.
6] Restricted range of affect (e.g., unable to have loving feelings for anything green)
7] Sense of a foreshortened future (e.g., does not expect to have a long engine life, or a normal engine life span)
D]Persistent symptoms of increased arousal (not present before the trauma), as indicated by two (or more) of the following:
1] Difficulty falling or staying asleep
2] Irritability or outbursts of anger
3] Difficulty concentrating
4] Hypervigilance (Enhanced state of hearing sensitivity accompanied by an exaggerated intensity of behaviors (e.g, listening to ticking valve lifters)
5] Exaggerated startle response "AAAAH!"
6] Duration of the disturbance (symptoms in Criteria B, C, and D) is more than one oil change interval & UOA.
Sad cases indeed. What is the cure? UOA?"