Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Overview

PTSD is an anxiety disorder that surfaces after experiencing a very dangerous, frightening, and uncontrollable event such as military combat exposure, a violent crime, a life-threatening accident such as a car wreck, criminal or sexual assault, a terrorist attack, or a natural disaster such as a tornado, flood, hurricane, or earthquake.

Not everybody who is exposed to a stressor requires treatment. However, if left untreated, PTSD can affect individuals to the point that, over time, even their daily functions become seriously impaired. This places them at higher risk for self-medication and abuse with alcohol and drugs, domestic violence, under employment and unemployment, homelessness, incarceration, and suicide. Research studies have also demonstrated that PTSD is linked with co-occurring physical illnesses such as physician-diagnosed chronic pain, hypertension (high blood pressure), sleep disorders, and cardiovascular diseases.

PTSD Types

  • Acute — symptoms generally last one to three months after the traumatic event
  • Chronic — symptoms generally last three months or longer
  • Delayed — at least six months (and possibly years) elapse between the traumatic event and the onset of symptoms 

PTSD Signs and Symptoms

Symptoms of PTSD can be terrifying and usually start soon after the traumatic event, although they may not surface for weeks, months, or even years. PTSD symptoms fall into four categories:

  1. Avoidance (amnesia, dissociation, numbing, hyper-vigilance, controlling behavior, and isolation
  2. Reliving or Re-experiencing (flashbacks, sleep disorders, overwhelming feelings, and overreacting)
  3. Victimization (distrust of others, abandonment, helplessness, and fear of change)
  4. Shame (feeling guilty, feeling as if you’re mentally ill, and feeling unworthy)

If your symptoms are bad enough, go directly to a hospital. Sometimes those suffering from PTSD develop symptoms of depression that are severe enough to require additional treatment. Untreated PTSD can also have a negative effect on one’s family and loved ones.

PTSD Risk Factors

Risk factors make a person more likely to develop PTSD. Keep in mind that anyone can develop PTSD at any age. According to the National Center for PTSD, about 7 to 8% out of people will experience PTSD at some point in their lives. Women are more likely to develop PTSD than men, and genes may make some people more likely to develop PTSD than others. However, people who develop PTSD should be not considered weak or defective in anyway because the main factor that determines whether someone will develop PTSD is the type of and frequency of exposure to a traumatic event.

Primary Risk Factors:

  • Living through dangerous events and traumas
  • Getting hurt
  • Seeing another person hurt or seeing a dead body
  • Childhood trauma
  • Feeling horror, helplessness, or extreme fear
  • Having little or no social support after the event
  • Dealing with extra stress after the event, such as loss of a loved one, pain and injury, or loss of a job or home
  • Having a history of mental illness or substance abuse

It’s important to remember that not everyone who lives through a dangerous event develops PTSD. In fact, most people will not develop the disorder. Many factors play a part in whether a person will develop PTSD.

PTSD Treatment

Fortunately, there are several evidence-based treatments for PTSD. Always discuss with your physician which therapy and/or medication may be right for you.

  • Cognitive therapy
  • Exposure therapy
  • Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing
  • Some medications, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors

Other Resources and Support

For more information on PTSD, please go to:
https://www.ptsd.va.gov/

https://www.airforcemedicine.af.mil/Resources/Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder-PTSD/