What is Post-traumatic Stress Disorder?
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe anxiety disorder.
It is the type of disorder that develops as a result of exposure to an event that causes psychological trauma.
The event alone may involve the threat of death to oneself or to another; or to one’s physical, sexual, or psychological integrity.
Because of this trauma, the individual feels unable to cope. As a disorder, PTSD is less frequent, but more enduring than posttraumatic stresses.
Symptoms of PTSD include experiencing the original trauma through flashbacks and/or nightmares, avoiding any stimuli related to the trauma, and increased arousal. Classification of PTSD falls under the guidelines of the DSM-IV-TR.