Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a disorder resulting from living through or witnessing an event in which an individual believes there’s a threat to life, physical integrity, or safety and experiences fear, terror, or helplessness. PTSD symptoms are characterized by:

• Reexperiencing trauma in painful recollections, flashbacks, or recurrent dreams/nightmares
• Avoidance of activities or places that recall the traumatic event
• Diminished responsiveness (emotional anesthesia or numbing), with disinterest in significant activities and with feelings of detachment and estrangement from others
• Chronic physiological arousal, leading to symptoms, such as an exaggerated startle response, disturbed sleep, difficulty in concentrating or remembering, and survivor guilt.