What is the Disorder?
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that may occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event such as a natural disaster, a serious accident, a terrorist act, war/combat, or rape or who have been threatened with death, sexual violence or serious injury.
Red Flags to watch out for
- Intrusive thoughts such as repeated, involuntary memories; distressing dreams; or flashbacks of the traumatic event.
- Avoiding reminders of the traumatic event may include avoiding people, places, activities, objects and situations that may trigger distressing memories.
- Inability to remember important aspects of the traumatic event, negative thoughts and feelings leading to ongoing and distorted beliefs about oneself or others.
- Arousal and reactive symptoms may include being irritable and having angry outbursts, behaving recklessly or in a self-destructive way, or having problems concentrating or sleeping.