DISORDER Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a form of anxiety that develops after a very distressing, frightening, or stressful event, such as a natural disaster, serious accident, assault, or military combat.
Symptoms may occur soon after the event or not for months, or, rarely, years later. They may include involuntary thoughts or flashbacks of the event, nightmares, insomnia, and panic attacks, with symptoms such as trembling, sweating, breathlessness, palpitations, and lightheadedness.
There may also be avoidance of reminders of the event and refusal to talk about it, irritability, and emotional numbness. PTSD may also lead to problems such as depression or alcohol or drug abuse.
In some cases, PTSD clears up without treatment. If it lasts for more than about a month, psychotherapy, antidepressants, or both may be recommended.

Othere related diseases

CYCLOTHYMIA
Cyclothymia is a mild form of bipolar disorder in which there are similar mood swings, but the highs are not extreme enough to be medically classified as mania ...

DEPRESSION
Postnatal depression Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) Depression is characterized by persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and loss of interest in lif...

EATING DISORDERS
Anorexia nervosa Eating disorders are characterized by an abnormal attitude to food, resulting in avoiding food (anorexia), self-induced vomiting (bulimia), or ...

INSOMNIA
Nightmares and night terrors Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep is often due to lifestyle factors, such as too much caffeine, a poor sleeping environme...

OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER
Commonly known as OCD, obsessive compulsive disorder is characterized by uncontrollable, persistent thoughts (obsessions) accompanied by irresistible urges to c...

PERSONALITY DISORDERS
Personality disorders are conditions in which rigid, dysfunctional patterns of thought and behavior cause persistent problems relating to others and fitting in ...

PHOBIAS
A phobia is a persistent, overwhelming fear of a particular object, animal, activity, or situation. Exposure to the object of the phobia leads to intense anxiet...

POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS
DISORDER Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a form of anxiety that develops after a very distressing, frightening, or stressful event, such as a natural d...