Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Medical Author: Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, MD
Medical Editor: Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD
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Disaster Survivors Face PTSD Risk
Medical Author: Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD
Medical Editor: William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR
 Post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD) is a psychiatric condition
that can develop following any traumatic, catastrophic life experience.
Recognition of this condition increased dramatically following the war in Viet
Nam, when many returning U.S. veterans developed disturbing psychological
symptoms and impaired functioning. More recently, the 9/11 tragedy, the Asian
tsunami, the London bombings, and Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath have left thousands of people
at risk for this potentially debilitating condition.
PTSD symptoms can develop weeks or months, or sometimes
even years, following a catastrophic event. Along with survivors of natural disasters, wars, and acts
of terrorism, people who have been the victims of violent crime or torture often
develop symptoms of PTSD.
PTSD symptoms vary among individuals and also vary in severity from mild to
disabling. PTSD Symptoms can include one or more of the following:
- "flashbacks" about the traumatic event
- feelings of estrangement or detachment
- nightmares
- sleep disturbances
- impaired functioning
- occupational instability
- memory disturbances
- family discord
- parenting or marital difficulties
Top Searched PTSD Terms:
symptoms, causes, treatment, nightmare, Vietnam, define, history, flashbacks, suicide, medications, exposure therapy, depression
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What is posttraumatic stress disorder?
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an emotional illness that develops as
a result of a terribly frightening, life-threatening, or otherwise highly unsafe
experience. PTSD sufferers re-experience the traumatic event or events in some
way, tend to avoid places, people, or other things that remind them of the event
(avoidance), and are exquisitely sensitive to normal life experiences (hyperarousal).
Although this condition has likely existed since human beings have endured
trauma, PTSD has only been recognized as a formal diagnosis since 1980. However,
it was called by different names as early as the American Civil War, when combat
veterans were referred to as suffering from "soldier's heart." In World War I,
symptoms that were generally consistent with PTSD were referred to as "combat
fatigue." Soldiers who developed such symptoms in World War II were said to be
suffering from "gross stress reaction," and many who fought in Vietnam who had
symptoms of what is now called PTSD were assessed as having "post-Vietnam
syndrome." PTSD has also been called "battle fatigue" and "shell shock." Complex posttraumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD) usually results from
prolonged exposure to a traumatic event or series thereof and is characterized
by long-lasting problems with many aspects of emotional and social functioning.
Approximately 7%-8% of people in the United States will likely develop PTSD in their lifetime, with the lifetime occurrence (prevalence) in combat
veterans and rape victims ranging from 10% to as high as 30%. Somewhat higher rates of this disorder have been found
to occur in African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans compared to
Caucasians in the United States. Some of that difference is thought to be due to
higher rates of dissociation soon before and after the traumatic event (peritraumatic);
a tendency for individuals from minority ethnic groups to blame themselves, have
less social support, and an increased perception of racism for those ethnic
groups; as well as differences between how ethnic groups may express distress. Other important
facts about PTSD include the estimate of 5 million people who suffer from PTSD at any one time in the United States and the fact that women are twice as
likely to develop PTSD as men.
Almost half of individuals who use outpatient mental-health services have
been found to suffer from PTSD. As evidenced by the
occurrence of stress in many individuals in the United States in the days
following the 2001 terrorist attacks, not being physically present at a
traumatic event does not guarantee that one cannot suffer from traumatic stress
that can lead to the development of PTSD.
PTSD statistics in children and teens reveal that up to more than 40% have
endured at least one traumatic event, resulting in the development of PTSD in up
to 15% of girls and 6% of boys. On average, 3%-6% of high school students in
the United States and as many as 30%-60% of children who have survived
specific disasters have PTSD. Up to 100% of children who have seen a parent
killed or endured sexual assault or abuse tend to develop PTSD, and more than
one-third of youths who are exposed to community violence will suffer from the
disorder.
Next: What are the effects of PTSD? »
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