Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that occurs after exposure to a terrifying ordeal in which you think your life or someone else’s is threatened and you feel that you have no control over what is happening. Anyone that has gone through a life-threatening event may develop PTSD. Some events that may cause PTSD include military combat, sexual abuse or physical abuse as a child, terrorist attack, sexual or physical assault, serious accidents, and natural disasters. Feelings after the event may include fear, confusion, and anger. In PTSD these feelings do not go away; instead they worsen, disrupting the person’s life and interfering with their daily activities. All people with PTSD have lived through a traumatic event that caused them to fear for their life, see horrible things and feel completely helpless.

Many people who go through a horrible event do not suffer PTSD. It is not clear why some people develop PTSD and others do not. The likelihood of developing PTSD depends on many factors, including the intensity of the trauma, personal injury, loss of a loved one, closeness to the event, how strong a reaction to the event was experienced, how much control of the events was felt, and how much support was received after the event.

Symptoms of PTSD are terrifying. They usually start soon after the event, but can be delayed for months or even years later. The symptoms may come and go over the years. If symptoms persist for 4 weeks or longer, cause great distress, and interfere with daily home or work life, the person may have PTSD. There are 4 types of symptoms: reliving the event, avoiding situations that may remind you of the event, emotional numbing, and being keyed up (hyper-arousal). People with PTSD may startle easily, become emotionally numb, lose interest in things they used to enjoy, become less affectionate, or become irritable, aggressive or even violent.

PTSD can cause other problems in the sufferer’s life such as drinking or drug problems; feelings of hopelessness, shame or despair; difficulty holding a job; relationship problems; and physical illness.

PTSD affects nearly 8 million American adults, but it can occur in childhood also. People who develop PTSD represent only a small fraction of those who live through a traumatic event. Women are about twice as likely to develop PTSD as men except in cases of sexual assault or abuse in which case they are equal. PTSD first received widespread attention in relation to war veterans. Experts believe that up to 30% of Vietnam veterans, up to 10% or so of Desert Storm and Afghanistan combat veterans, and up to 20% of Iraqi war veterans suffer from PTSD.

Treatments are effective for PTSD. These include cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), eye movement desensitization and reprogramming (EMDR) and medications.

References: http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/ncmain/ncdocs/fact_shts/fs_treatmentforptsd.html, http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/anxiety.cfm#anx4.

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