Introduction
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that can develop after exposure to a traumatic event such as combat, sexual assault, a serious accident, natural disaster, or any experience involving actual or threatened death or serious injury. Not everyone who experiences trauma develops PTSD, but for those who do, the condition can significantly and persistently affect daily functioning, relationships, and well-being without proper treatment.
Causes
PTSD develops when the brain's normal processing of traumatic memories is disrupted, resulting in the trauma remaining emotionally "unprocessed" and easily reactivated. Risk factors include the severity and duration of the trauma, prior trauma history, lack of social support after the event, pre-existing mental health conditions, genetic vulnerability, and certain biological factors involving the stress-response system including the HPA axis and amygdala functioning.
Symptoms
Symptoms fall into four clusters: intrusion (flashbacks, nightmares, distressing memories); avoidance (avoiding trauma-related thoughts, feelings, or external reminders); negative alterations in cognition and mood (persistent negative beliefs, emotional numbness, feeling estranged from others, loss of interest); and hyperarousal (irritability, hypervigilance, exaggerated startle response, difficulty sleeping or concentrating). Symptoms must persist for more than one month following the trauma.
Diagnosis
A clinician diagnoses PTSD using DSM-5 criteria, which require exposure to a qualifying traumatic event, symptoms from all four symptom clusters for at least one month, and significant functional impairment. Structured clinical interviews and standardized tools such as the PCL-5 (PTSD Checklist) assist in diagnosis and monitoring. Co-occurring conditions including depression, anxiety, substance use disorder, and TBI are common and should be assessed.
Treatment
Trauma-focused therapies including Prolonged Exposure (PE) and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) are first-line treatments for PTSD, and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is also well-supported by evidence. SSRIs and SNRIs are the first-line medications approved for PTSD. Prazosin may be used for trauma-related nightmares. A combination of therapy and medication often produces the best outcomes, and treatment should be trauma-informed and tailored to the individual.
This information is intended for educational and informational purposes only. It should not be used in place of an individual consultation or examination or replace the advice of your health care professional and should not be relied upon to determine diagnosis or course of treatment.