PTSD is defined as experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event involving threatened death, serious injury, or threat to physical integrity. Risk factors include previous trauma, family history of mental illness, abuse, stress, and lack of social support. Traumatic events that can lead to PTSD are war, accidents, assault, natural disasters, and childhood neglect or abuse. Symptoms include re-experiencing the trauma through flashbacks or nightmares, avoidance of trauma reminders, increased anxiety, irritability, sleep issues, and hypervigilance lasting over a month. Lifetime prevalence is 7-8% and PTSD commonly co-occurs with depression, substance abuse, and other mental health issues.

2. DEFINITION
PTSD are defined as individual who have been exposed to a traumatic event
in which one person experienced witnessed or was confronted with actual
or threatened death or serious injury or the threat to the physical integrity
of self or other
Risk Factors for PTSD include:
1. Women are at greater risk than males
2. Previous traumatic experiences, especially in early life
3. Family history of PTSD or depression
4. History of physical or sexual abuse
5. History of substance abuse History of depression, anxiety, or another
mental illness
6. High level of stress in everyday life
7. Lack of support after the trauma
8. Lack of coping skills

3. Traumatic events that can lead to PTSD include:-
1. War
2. Cars and planes crashes
3. Sudden death of loved one
4. Terrorist attacks
5. Natural disasters
6. Assault
7. Childhood neglect
8. Kidnapping
9. Rape
10.Physical abused
11.Sexual abuse

4. Signs and symptoms
1.Symptoms of PTSD: Re-experiencing the traumatic
event
• Intrusive, upsetting memories of the event
• Flashbacks
• Nightmares
• Feelings of intense distress when reminded of the trauma
• Intense physical reactions to reminders of the event (e.g.
pounding heart, rapid breathing, nausea, muscle tension,
sweating

5. 2.Symptoms of PTSD: Avoidance and numbing
• Avoiding activities, places, thoughts, or feelings that
remind the trauma Inability to remember important
aspects of the trauma
• Loss of interest in activities and life in general
• Feeling detached from others and emotionally numb
• Sense of a limited future (you don’t expect to live a
normal life span, get married, have a career)

6. 3.Symptoms of PTSD: Increased anxiety and
emotional arousal
• Difficulty falling or staying asleep
• Irritability or outbursts of anger
• Difficulty concentrating
• Hypervigilance (on constant “red alert”)
• Feeling jumpy and easily startled

7. Other common symptoms
• Anger and irritability
• Guilt, shame, or self-blame
• Substance abuse
• Feelings of mistrust
• Depression and hopelessness
• Suicidal thoughts and feelings
• Feeling alienated and alone
• Physical aches and pains

8. A Mnemonic for Screening Patients for Post-
traumatic Stress Disorder
DREAMS
D etachment
R eexperiencing the event
E vent had emotional effects
A voidance
M onth in duration
S ympathetic hyperactivity or hypervigilance

9. Epidemiology & Features of PTSD
Lifetime prevalence: 7-8%. However, most persons exposed to trauma
do NOT develop PTSD.
May be especially severe or long-lasting with interpersonal and
intentional trauma.
Trauma, e.g., childhood abuse, increases suicide risk.
May have paranoid ideation and auditory pseudo-hallucinations (hearing
one’s thoughts spoken in 1 or more different voices).
For men, combat is the most frequent trauma; for women, it is physical
assault or rape. Can begin soon after the trauma or months/years
later.
PTSD resolves within 3 months in about 50% of adults, but can be
chronic, with waxing/waning especially with stresses.
Comorbidities: major depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, TBI
(48% co-occurrence of PTSD and mild TBI in recent combat veterans).