Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe case of anxiety disorder, which could develop after a person is exposed to an event that causes psychological trauma, in which physical harm was witnessed, threatened or experienced. It is a medical illness, where the person suffering from PTSD avoids any reminders or thoughts of the trauma that they went through. However, in spite of their attempts, they often re-experience the ordeal, in the form of vivid flashbacks, nightmares and frightening memories or thoughts. PTSD can also be brought on, because of “survivor guilt”, where a person feels guilty for surviving an event in which a family member or a friend died.

This condition is caused when a person goes through a particularly traumatic event, which may include - car accidents, various life-threatening situations, kidnapping, physical or sexual abuse, natural disasters, diagnosis of a life-threatening illness, and many more. After severely upsetting events most people experience different degrees of anxiety. Having bad dreams, feeling fearful or numb and finding it difficult to stop thinking about what happened, are all normal, for a while, as they will reduce gradually. However, in case of PTSD, the symptoms don’t disappear. Instead of feeling better, the person suffering feels worse! The symptoms of PTSD could take weeks, months or even years to develop in a person. The symptoms can be evident suddenly, gradually or can appear occasionally, over a period of time. At times, the symptoms appear out of no where and at other times, they are triggered by a memory of the traumatic event.

The three main types of symptoms are:

Re-living the event
•Upsetting memories of the traumatic event
•Flashbacks (It’s happening again!)
•Nightmares
•Distress

Avoidance and emotional numbness
•Avoiding places, people, thoughts or activities associated with the event
•Inability to recall the main aspects of the trauma
•Loss of interest in activities
•Feeling of detachment and numbness

Hyper-arousal
•Insomnia
•Temper outbursts
•Lack of concentration
•Hyper vigilance
•Nervousness and anxiety  

Other symptoms of PTSD
•Anger and irritation
•Self-blame, guilt and shame
•Depression, hopelessness and suicidal thoughts
•Feeling lonely or betrayed.
•Headaches
•Stomachaches
•Chest-pain

It is important to know and detect the symptoms of PTSD as early as possible. Getting proper treatment, which includes psychological and medical treatment, could help prevent it from becoming a long-term condition.