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Signs and Symptoms of PTSD

www.mayoclinic.com/health/post-traumatic-stress-disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms may include:

• Flashbacks, or reliving the traumatic event for minutes or even days at a time
• Shame or guilt
• Upsetting dreams about the traumatic event
• Trying to avoid thinking or talking about the traumatic event
• Feeling emotionally numb
• Irritability or anger
• Poor relationships
• Self-destructive behavior, such as drinking too much
• Hopelessness about the future
• Trouble sleeping
• Memory problems
• Trouble concentrating
• Being easily startled or frightened
• Not enjoying activities you once enjoyed

(Information according to the MayoClinic website)

VA Fact Sheet: What is PTSD?

The main features of PTSD can be summarized as follows:

Trauma

PTSD is different from most mental-health diagnoses because it is tied to a to particular life experience. A traumatic experience typically involves the potential for death or serious injury resulting in intense fear, helplessness, or horror.

Symptoms

PTSD is characterized by a specific group of symptoms that sets it apart from other types of reactions to trauma. Increasingly, evidence points to four major types of symptoms: re-experiencing, avoidance, numbing, and arousal.

Re-experiencing symptoms

These sypmptoms involve a sort of mental replay of the trauma, often accompanied by strong emotional reactions. This can happen in reaction to thoughts or reminders of the experience when the person is awake or in the form of nightmares during sleep.

Avoidance symptoms

Are often exhibited as efforts to evade activities, places, or people that are reminders of the trauma.

Numbing symptoms

These are typically experienced as a loss of emotions, particularly positive feelings.

Arousal symptoms

Arousal symptoms reflect excessive physiological activation and include a heightened sense of being on guard as well as difficulty with sleep and concentration.

Length and Severity

To qualify for a formal diagnosis, the symptoms must persist for over one month, cause significant distress, and affect the individual's ability to function socially, occupationally, or domestically.

(Reprinted from National Center of PTSD, Factsheet at www.ncptsd.va.gov)

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