Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that can develop after an individual has experienced a traumatic or life-threatening event. PTSD can affect people who have directly experienced or witnessed traumatic events, and it can also occur in individuals who have learned about a traumatic event happening to a loved one. The condition is characterized by a range of symptoms that persist for an extended period after the traumatic experience, and it can significantly impact a person’s daily life and well-being.
Re-experiencing symptoms include:
- Experiencing flashbacks—reliving the traumatic event
- Nightmares, or dreams related to the event
- Having distressing thoughts
- Experiencing increase of heart rate and/or sweating
Avoidance symptoms include:
- Staying away from places, events, or objects that are reminders
- Suppressing thoughts, or feelings related to the traumatic event
- Change of routines such as: avoid driving, or riding in a car after a serious car accident
Arousal and reactivity symptoms include:
- Being easily startled
- Feeling tense, on guard, or on edge
- Having difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep
- Feeling irritable and having angry, or aggressive outbursts
- Engaging in risky, reckless, or destructive behavior
Cognition and mood symptoms include:
- Having trouble remembering key features of the traumatic event
- Having negative thoughts about oneself, or the world
- Having exaggerated feelings of blame directed toward oneself, or others
- Having ongoing negative emotions, such as fear, anger, guilt, or shame