PTSD: Symptoms, Causes, & Treatments
Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that can develop in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event or set of circumstances that is perceived as emotionally or physically harmful, life-threatening, or overwhelming. Examples of traumatic events include natural disasters, accidents, terrorist acts, war, sexual assault, historical trauma, intimate partner violence, and bullying. Although PTSD was previously known by different names such as “shell shock” and “combat fatigue,” it can affect anyone regardless of age, ethnicity, or culture. About 3.5% of US adults experience PTSD annually, and the lifetime prevalence of PTSD in adolescents ages 13-18 is 8%. One in 11 people are estimated to be diagnosed with PTSD in their lifetime, and women are twice as likely as men to develop PTSD. U.S. Latinos, African Americans, and Native Americans/Alaska Natives are disproportionately affected by PTSD.
PTSD Symptoms
PTSD can cause intense and disturbing thoughts and feelings related to the traumatic event that may persist long after the event has ended. Symptoms of PTSD fall into four categories: intrusive thoughts, avoidance, alterations in cognition and mood, and alterations in arousal and reactivity. While some people experience similar symptoms in the days following a traumatic event, a diagnosis of PTSD requires symptoms to persist for more than a month and cause significant distress or impairment in daily functioning. PTSD often co-occurs with other mental and physical health problems.
PTSD Treatments
Other conditions that are similar to PTSD include acute stress disorder, which occurs in reaction to a traumatic event and causes symptoms similar to PTSD but for a shorter duration (between three days and one month), and adjustment disorder, which occurs in response to a stressful life event and causes symptoms that are more severe than what would be expected for that event. Treatment for PTSD may involve psychotherapy, including cognitive-behavioral therapy, and medication, such as SSRI antidepressants.