Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder caused by very stressful, frightening or distressing events.

Someone with PTSD often relives the traumatic event through nightmares and flashbacks, and may experience feelings of isolation, irritability and guilt.

They may also have problems sleeping, such as insomnia, and find concentrating difficult.

These symptoms are often severe and persistent enough to have a significant impact on the person’s day-to-day life.

Read more about the symptoms of PTSD.

Symptoms

The symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can have a significant impact on your day-to-day life.

In most cases, the symptoms develop during the first month after a traumatic event. However, in a minority of cases, there may be a delay of months or even years before symptoms start to appear.

Some people with PTSD experience long periods when their symptoms are less noticeable, followed by periods where they get worse. Other people have constant, severe symptoms.

The specific symptoms of PTSD can vary widely between individuals, but generally fall into the categories described below.


The symptoms of complex PTSD are similar to symptoms of PTSD but may include:

feelings of shame or guilt difficulty controlling your emotions periods of losing attention and concentration – this is known as dissociation physical symptoms – such as headaches, dizziness, chest pains and stomach aches cutting yourself off from friends and family relationship difficulties destructive or risky behaviour – such as self-harm, alcohol misuse or drug abuse suicidal thoughts