Post-traumatic stress disorder

Definition and causes

PTSD is a common mental health condition that appears after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. Examples of events might include natural disasters, violent attacks, car accidents, or childhood abuse or neglect.

The same event can affect people differently—what’s traumatic for you might not be traumatic for someone else. Most people who go through a traumatic event will not develop PTSD.

PTSD can happen to anyone, at any age.

  • About 6 out of every 100 people (or 6% of the U.S. population) will have PTSD at some point in their lives. 
  • About 5 out of every 100 adults (or 5%) in the U.S. has PTSD in any given year. 
  • 15% to 43% of girls and 14% to 43% of boys experience at least one trauma in their lifetime.
    • Of those children and teens, 3% to 15% of girls and 1% to 6% of boys develop PTSD
  • Women experience PTSD twice as often as men.
  • Veterans are more likely to have PTSD than civilians. Veterans who deployed to a war zone are also more likely to have PTSD than those who did not deploy.

PTSD often appears alongside other mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety, substance use disorder, or suicide.

Source- ADAA and National Center for PTSD

Signs and symptoms of PTSD

Adults and children (6+ years old)
  • Repeatedly thinking about the trauma- may have nightmare or flashbacks
  • Being constantly alert or on guard- may be easily startled or hypervigilant
  • Avoiding reminders of the trauma- your may forget details about the event or suppress your memories
  • Intense negative emotions and beliefs- may feel depressed, anxious, guilty, irritable, angry, blame, intense fear or sadness, etc.; may have an emotional outburst or panic attack when something causes memories of the event
  • Feeling emotionally numb or lack positive emotions– may deny the event happened
  • Trouble concentrating or sleeping
  • Losing interest in activities
  • Relationship problems– having problems with intimacy, or feeling detached from your family and friends
  • Physical symptoms- chronic pain, headaches, stomach pain, diarrhea, tightness or burning in the chest, muscle cramps or lower back pain
  • Substance use problems- using drugs or alcohol to cope with (or forget) the emotional pain
Children < 6 years old
  • Wetting the bed after having learned to use the toilet
  • Forgetting how to read or unable to talk
  • Acting out the scary event during playtime
  • Being unusually clingy with a parent or other adult

Source- NIMH

Believe you may have experiencing PTSD, take the test…

Mental Heath America PTSD test

Resources for PTSD

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