Reality?

The book Slaughterhouse-Five is filled with abstract concepts: aliens and time travel. This brings up questions to the thought behind Vonnegut's novel. The main one being, "Did Vonnegut write with all of these mystical aspects to make his war book more interesting, or to convey a stronger point?"

PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) is the reasoning behind a lot of mental problems from soldiers returning home from war. It affects many; A recent study from a PTDS website suggests that "30 out of 100 (30%) of vietnam veterans have had PTSD sometime in their lifetime". Back in the 1940s, PTSD was not understood as well as it is now, so there aren't any statistics. Signs of PTSD include: re-experiencing situations, avoidance and numbing symptoms, as well as arousal symptoms.

Reliving situations is the symptom that seems most appropriate for correlating Slaughterhouse-Five to PTSD. The main theme found in Vonnegut's novel is time and how out of control it is. Maybe this structure is a metaphor of what war veterans have to deal with: confusion, lack of understanding, loneliness. We were warned before handed this novel that it wasn't going to be the easiest book; it was going to be confusing. Maybe there isn't a great amount of difference between reading this confusing book and being in the mind of one suffering from PTSD.

So, did Vonnegut write with all of these mystical aspects to make his war book more interesting, or to convey a stronger message? Do you have any other "real world" explanation for why the book is like this? Do you think Vonnegut suffered from PTSD at all throughout his lifetime?