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What is PTSD?

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that can occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event such as a natural disaster, a serious accident, a terrorist act, war/combat, rape or other violent personal assault.

PTSD has been known by many names in the past, such as “shell shock” during the years of World War I and “combat fatigue” after World War II. But PTSD does not just happen to combat veterans. PTSD can occur in all people, in people of any ethnicity, nationality or culture, and any age. PTSD affects approximately 3.5 percent of U.S. adults, and an estimated one in 11 people will be diagnosed PTSD in their lifetime. Women are twice as likely as men to have PTSD.

People with PTSD have intense, disturbing thoughts and feelings related to their experience that last long after the traumatic event has ended. They may relive the event through flashbacks or nightmares; they may feel sadness, fear or anger; and they may feel detached or estranged from other people. People with PTSD may avoid situations or people that remind them of the traumatic event, and they may have strong negative reactions to something as ordinary as a loud noise or an accidental touch. Continue reading from American Psychiatric Association

What Causes C-PTSD?

Complex PTSD is a fairly new term. Professionals have recognised for a while that some types of trauma can have additional effects to PTSD, but have disagreed about whether this is a form of PTSD or an entirely separate condition, and what it should be called.

The types of traumatic events that can cause complex PTSD include:

  • childhood abuse, neglect or abandonment
  • ongoing domestic violence or abuse
  • repeatedly witnessing violence or abuse

  • being forced or manipulated into prostitution (trading sex)torture, kidnapping or slavery

  • being a prisoner of war.

You are more likely to develop complex PTSD if:

  • you experienced trauma at an early age
  • the trauma lasted for a long time
  • escape or rescue were unlikely or impossible
  • you have experienced multiple traumas
  • you were harmed by someone close to you. Continue reading from Mind UK

From our Collection

Link to The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel Van der Kolk in the Catalog
Link to The PTSD Solution by Alan Wolfelt in Freading
Link to Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving by Pete Walker in Hoopla
Link to Heal Your PTSD by Michele Rosenthal in Freading
Link to The Unspeakable Mind by Shaili Jain, M.D. in Freading
Link to The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog by Bruce Duncan Perry in the Catalog
Link to The End of Mental Illness by Daniel G Amen MD in Hoopla

Link to the Health & Wellness Resource Guide Series Homepage