Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can occur following a traumatic event. Traumas that can lead to PTSD include:
- Witnessing a physical or sexual assault
- Being physically or sexually assaulted
- Witnessing a murder or the death of an individual
- Being in or witnessing a motor vehicle accident
- Combat (witnessing or engaging in violent acts during war time)
- Natural disasters (earthquakes, floods, hurricanes)
People with PTSD can have a variety of distressing symptoms, however they will typically have symptoms that relate to the following clusters:
- Reexperiencing or reliving the event (e.g., nightmares, flashbacks, intrusive memories)
- Avoidance (e.g., avoiding people, places, or conversations related to the trauma, inability to recall certain aspects of the traumatic event)
- Increased physical arousal (e.g., ‘hypervigilance’, exaggerated startle response, irritability, being on edge)
Although it is necessary to have experienced some form of trauma in order to develop PTSD, all people who experience a trauma do not necessarily have PTSD. It is common for people to feel distressed or anxious after living through a traumatic event, and these feelings will often pass over time. However, if anxiety symptoms persist for over a month after a trauma, this might be a sign of PTSD.
