Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

What is PTSD?

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that some people develop after experiencing or witnessing a shocking, frightening or dangerous event. It is a recognized, treatable condition — not a sign of weakness.

Symptoms

PTSD symptoms are generally grouped into four categories:

• Re-experiencing: intrusive memories, flashbacks or nightmares.
• Avoidance: staying away from reminders, or avoiding thinking about the event.
• Negative changes in thinking and mood: persistent fear, guilt, shame, feeling detached, or losing interest in activities.
• Arousal and reactivity: being easily startled, feeling on edge, irritability, difficulty sleeping or concentrating.

These symptoms can occur with PTSD, but only a qualified professional can provide a diagnosis.

Causes and risk factors

Anyone can develop PTSD. Factors associated with higher risk include the severity of the trauma, previous trauma, a history of mental health conditions, a lack of social support after the event, and additional stress afterward.

Diagnosis

A clinician diagnoses PTSD through a careful interview about the event and your symptoms, often using validated questionnaires. Symptoms must last more than a month and cause significant distress or impairment.

Treatment

• Trauma-focused psychotherapy is generally recommended as a first-line treatment. Approaches with strong evidence include cognitive processing therapy (CPT), prolonged exposure (PE), trauma-focused CBT and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). See trauma therapy.
• Medication: certain antidepressants may help some people, particularly when therapy isn’t available or preferred.

Self-care

Stay connected with people you trust, keep regular routines, be gentle with yourself about recovery timelines, and limit alcohol. Grounding techniques can help during distressing memories — see our guide to calming an overwhelmed mind.