Many people experience some symptoms described in this article, often caused by normal stress responses. To be diagnosed with PTSD, the symptoms must have lasted more than a month and cause distress or interfere with everyday functioning.
Symptoms of PTSD include avoidance of thoughts, feelings, areas, and people that remind you of the trauma; flashbacks or nightmares; irritability; and mood changes. Treatment usually includes therapy and medication.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
While it’s normal to feel upset or down after a traumatic event, if symptoms last more than a month and cause distress in your relationships and daily functioning, you may have PTSD. Symptoms can include re-living the trauma through unwanted and upsetting memories, flashbacks, or nightmares. They can also include avoiding thoughts, feelings, people, places or situations that remind you of the event and feeling on edge, easily startled and unable to concentrate. People of all ages can have different types of PTSD, which can arise following any stressful event. Still, it is more common after certain events like sexual assault, serious car accidents or military combat.
The risk factors for PTSD include the severity of the threat to life or personal safety, whether it is deliberate and inflicted by another person or by chance, and how uncontrollable or inescapable the situation feels. Repeated stress, exposure to violence, previous traumas, and substance abuse can also trigger PTSD. Symptoms can vary in intensity over time and can be brought on by any trigger that reminds you of the traumatic event (such as hearing a gun backfire or seeing a news report about a sexual assault). By adopting proactive measures, such as volunteering or reaching out to someone needing assistance, you can learn to manage PTSD.
Post-Traumatic Depression (PTSD)
People who have PTSD may experience feelings of sadness, anxiety or depression after a shattering event. These symptoms can last a month or more and cause serious distress or interfere with daily life. They can also affect work and family.
Symptoms include re-living the traumatic experience in unwanted memories, flashbacks or vivid nightmares. They avoid thoughts, people, places or activities that remind them of the trauma and feel emotionally numb, empty or detached from others. They have trouble relaxing, are easily startled, and find concentrating hard. They may be angry or irritable or have problems in relationships. They may drink too much or use drugs to escape their feelings.
Effective treatment for PTSD is available. It usually involves psychological therapy, such as counseling and medication, to help control symptoms. Psychotherapy includes:
- Confronting the traumatic experience.
- Working through negative beliefs and feelings about it.
- Coping with intrusive memories.
- Dealing with relationship problems and learning new coping skills.
It can help reclaim power and a sense of safety by volunteering, helping out a neighbor or doing rhythmic exercise.
Post-Traumatic Anxiety Disorder (PTSD)
PTSD can develop after someone lives through or witnesses a terrifying event that causes them to feel stressed and fearful even after the danger has passed. This can include a natural disaster, war, car accident, sexual assault, serious physical injury or the death of someone close to them. Symptoms may consist of upsetting nightmares; difficulty sleeping or being able to relax; being easily startled; persistent feelings of anger, guilt or shame; and a lack of interest in activities that used to be enjoyable.
People who have PTSD also often try to avoid things or people that remind them of the trauma, and this can lead to problems with work and relationships. They might be angry, aggressive or violent and think about hurting themselves or others.
Treatment options for PTSD include talking therapies (psychotherapy) and medication. There are specific types of treatment that have been proven to help with PTSD, such as cognitive processing therapy and prolonged exposure therapy. Medications, such as SSRIs and SNRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors) that are usually used to treat depression, can also be helpful for PTSD.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Children and Teens
Many adults joke about having PTSD, but it can be a serious, life-changing condition for children and teens. It can affect their relationships with family and friends, school or work, and cause them to seek numbing behaviors such as misusing drugs or alcohol.
While the core symptoms of PTSD in children are similar to those in adults, there are unique differences. For instance, children under seven may not have flashbacks or remember the traumatic event clearly. They can experience depression, loss of interest in activities, aggression, clinginess, difficulty sleeping, or nightmares. They can also reenact the traumatic event in their play or drawings.
A child psychiatrist or mental health professional can diagnose PTSD in kids and teens. To be diagnosed, a person must meet several criteria set out in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) by the American Psychiatric Association. Symptoms typically begin within three months of the trauma but can sometimes start later. They include avoidance of people and situations that remind a person of the trauma; difficulty sleeping or concentrating; high anxiety, especially when startled; anger and irritability; and difficulty feeling positive emotions (numbness). Medication may be appropriate for treating a teen or child with severe symptoms.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Adults
Symptoms of PTSD in adults may start soon after the trauma, but they can also appear months or even years later. For a person to have PTSD, they must experience severe distress and problems with their everyday functioning. They must also have difficulty coping and be disconnected from family and friends.
In the case of PTSD, symptoms include re-living the event through unwanted and recurring memories or vivid nightmares; avoidance of thoughts, feelings, people, places or situations that remind them of the trauma; irritability or mood changes; difficulty sleeping or concentrating; and an overall sense of being overwhelmed and unsafe. In extreme cases, people with PTSD can develop depressive and dissociative disorders or engage in self-destructive behaviors like drug and alcohol abuse, impulsive sexual behavior and aggressive actions. Not everyone who experiences a traumatic event gets PTSD, but genetics, neurobiology and personal factors play an important role in developing the condition. People who have PTSD might find relief through psychotherapy or medications.
