Symptoms of PTSD
There are several groups of symptoms associated with PTSD. They include:
- Exposure to a traumatic event
- Persistent re-experiencing of the traumatic event which might include:
- recurrent and intrusive distressing recollections of the event
- recurrent distressing dreams of the event
- acting or feeling as if the traumatic event were recurring
- intense psychological distress at exposure to reminders of the event
- psychological reactivity on exposure to reminders of the event
- Persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma and numbing of responsiveness which might include:
- efforts to avoid associated thoughts, feelings or conversations
- efforts to avoid activities, places, individuals that arouse recollections
- inability to recall an important aspect of the trauma
- markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities
- feeling of detachment or estrangement from others
- inability to have loving feelings
- sense of foreshortened future such as not expecting to have a career, long-term relationships or children
- Persistent symptoms of increased arousal such as:
- difficulty falling or staying asleep
- irritability or outbursts of anger
- difficulty concentrating
- hyper-vigilance
- exaggerated startle response
- Duration of the symptoms is more than a month
- The experience and symptoms cause significant distress or impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of functioning.