PTSD

Posttraumatic stress disorder is the longer-term symptoms in response to a traumatic event like an accident, assault, military combat, or natural disaster. It can have lasting impacts on a person’s mental health.

Risk Factors

PTSD can occur at any age and happens with exposure to trauma. Risk factors can also include prior experiences of trauma.

Common Symptoms

These symptoms are a result of the body’s inability to return to normal in the months after a response to a painful event.

Symptoms of PTSD in adults include:

Re-experiencing distressing memories: Flashbacks, bad dreams, and intrusive thoughts
Avoidance: Sidestepping reminders of the traumatic event
Cognitive: Trouble recalling the event and negative thinking
Mood symptoms: Feelings of numbness, guilt, worry, depression, or out-of-body experiences
Hyper-vigilance: When something intensely startles a person like the original trauma
Behavior changes: Trouble sleeping or outbursts of anger

Symptoms in young children include:

Behavior: Clinging to parents
Reversions: Things like bathroom accidents and bed-wetting

Get Tested

Symptoms of PTSD usually begin within three months after experiencing the event. Or, they may emerge years afterward. For a diagnosis, symptoms must last more than a month. Symptoms of depression, anxiety, or substance use often go with PTSD.