Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that can develop after a person is exposed to a very traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, fire or other disaster, traffic collisions, or other threats on a person's life. Frequent among soldiers, it has been called many different names including Soldier's Heart (American Civil War), Shell Shock (World War I), and Combat Fatigue (World War II) before being codified to its modern name in the 1970s (Vietnam War).

Symptoms may include: paranoia, overvigilance, concealment of handguns and other weapons for easy access, fear of unexisting threats, disturbing thoughts, feelings, or dreams related to the events (usually war flashbacks in most veterans); mental or physical distress to trauma-related cues; attempts to avoid trauma-related cues and alterations in how a person thinks and feels.

The most severe cases may feature trauma-related visual and auditory hallucinations with mental disturbances (such as severe depression) that could lead to suicide or full-on psychosis and loss of contact with reality.

See also

• Survivor guilt
• The Two-Thousand Yard Stare
• Thousand yard stare

View wiki