
Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Post traumatic stress disorder overview
Introduction
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Overview
Overview
Post traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened.[1] It is a severe and ongoing emotional reaction to an extreme psychological trauma.[2] This stressor may involve someone’s actual death or a threat to the patient’s or someone else’s life, serious physical injury, or threat to physical and/or psychological integrity, to a degree that usual psychological defenses are incapable of coping. It is important to make a distinction between PTSD and traumatic stress, which is a similar condition, but of less intensity and duration.[3] The condition has also been known historically or colloquially as shell shock, traumatic war neurosis, or post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSS).
References
References
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
