Symptoms of Post-traumatic Disorder

Post-traumatic Disorder (PTSD) can happen following experience of or exposure to frightening, life-threatening, distressing or highly stressful events. 

After these events people can experience repeated distressing, upsetting and anxiety-threatening thoughts that come into their minds without any obvious trigger or warning.  Sometimes people can experience ‘flashbacks’ of these events which is when they experience vivid recollections or ‘reliving’ or these events, intrusive images or dreams or nightmares about the event.  Such experiences are upsetting, stressful and distressing in their own right and people will therefore try very hard to avoid any triggering situations or events.

Other symptoms include not really having clear memories of the event, being ‘hypervigilant’ or on the alert for threatening or possibly dangerous events all the time, mood changes and negative thoughts and beliefs.  In turn, these symptoms then can mean people can struggle to manage their emotions, have problems sleeping, that their relationships or general functioning are effected, and that they feel disconnected or separate from the world around them.