Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

PTSD is a mental and behavioural disorder which develops in people who experience traumatic situations or personally witness it happen to someone else. It is a potentially debilitating condition that can significantly disrupt a person’s life. PTSD can affect anyone, including children.While it is normal for anyone to have distressing symptoms following the traumatic incident, they subside naturally over time. However, when these symptoms persist and start interfering with socio-occupational functioning, it may be a sign of PTSD.

Common symptoms:

Symptoms of PTSD generally begin within the first 3 months after the inciting traumatic event, but may not begin until years later.

Re-experiencing symptoms

  • Flashbacks—reliving the traumatic event, including physical symptoms, such as a racing heart or sweating
  • Recurring memories or dreams related to the event
  • Distressing thoughts
  • Physical signs of stress

Avoidance symptoms

  • Staying away from places, events, or objects that are reminders of the experience
  • Avoiding thoughts or feelings related to the traumatic event

Arousal and reactivity symptoms

  • Being easily startled
  • Feeling tense, on guard, or on edge
  • Having difficulty concentrating
  • Having difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep
  • Feeling irritable and having angry or aggressive outbursts
  • Engaging in risky, reckless, or destructive behaviour

Cognition and mood symptoms

  • Trouble remembering key features of the traumatic event
  • Negative thoughts about oneself or the world
  • Exaggerated feelings of blame directed toward oneself or others
  • Ongoing negative emotions, such as fear, anger, guilt, or shame
  • Loss of interest in previous activities
  • Feelings of social isolation
  • Difficulty feeling positive emotions, such as happiness or satisfaction

Symptoms in children :

Children and teens can have extreme reactions to traumatic events, but their symptoms may not be the same as those seen in adults. 

In children younger than age 6, symptoms can include:

  • Wetting the bed after having learned to use the toilet
  • Forgetting how to talk or being unable to talk
  • Acting out the scary event during playtime
  • Being unusually clingy with a parent or other adult

Common causes of PTSD:

  • Sexual assault and rape
  • War/ military combat
  • Domestic violence/ intimate partner violence 
  • Unexpected death of a loved one
  • Life threatening illness- cancer, heart attack, stroke
  • Pregnancy related trauma- misscarriage, stillbirth, childbirth
  • Natural disasters- floods, earthquake, snowstorm, cyclone 
  • Professionals like firefighters, armed forces personnel, EMTs who are repeatedly exposed to traumatic conditions
  • Child abuse
  • Road traffic accidents 
  • Terrorist attacks
  • Mass shooting 

Conditions associated with PTSD:

  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Panic attacks 
  • Insomnia
  • Drug addiction 
  • Bipolar Disorder
  • Psychosis
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
  • Suicidal behavior