Post Traumatic Stress

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a term for certain psychological consequences of exposure to stressful experiences or highly traumatic situations. These experiences may involve the death of loved ones, serious personal injury or a threat to physical and/or psychological integrity.

Symptoms can include general restlessness, insomnia, aggressiveness, depression, dissociation, emotional detachment or nightmares. A possible symptom is memory loss often related to the traumatic event. PTSD may also lead to an amplification of other underlying psychological conditions. Young children suffering from PTSD will often act out aspects of the trauma through their play and may also have nightmares.

The Facts and Figures

• Approximately 30% of men and women who have spent time in a war zone experience PTSD
• About 3.6 % of adults in US of ages 18 to 54 (5.2 million people) have PTSD during the course of a given year
• Individuals with the disorder may have an increased risk of impulsive behaviour or suicide
• People who have been abused as children or who have had other previous traumatic experiences are more likely to develop the disorder