Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) isn’t just “feeling stressed” after something bad—it’s a specific clinical condition that follows exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence. You don’t need to have been in combat; car accidents, assault, childhood abuse, sudden loss, medical trauma, or witnessing horror can all trigger it.
The four core symptom clusters (DSM-5 criteria) must last more than one month and cause significant distress or impairment:
- Intrusion symptoms
- Recurrent, involuntary, and distressing memories
- Nightmares about the event
- Flashbacks (feeling like it’s happening again)
- Intense psychological or physical reactions to triggers (e.g., smell, sound, date) that remind you of the trauma
- Avoidance
- Deliberately avoiding thoughts, feelings, or conversations about the trauma
- Avoiding people, places, activities, or objects that trigger memories
- Negative changes in mood and cognition (at least two)
- Inability to remember important parts of the event (dissociative amnesia)
- Persistent negative beliefs about yourself/others/world (“I’m broken,” “No one can be trusted”)
- Blame of self or others
- Persistent negative emotions (fear, horror, anger, guilt, shame)
- Markedly diminished interest in life
- Feeling detached or estranged from others
- Inability to experience positive emotions
- Hyperarousal and reactivity (at least two)
- Irritable or aggressive behavior
- Reckless or self-destructive behavior
- Hypervigilance (constantly scanning for danger)
- Exaggerated startle response
- Problems with concentration
- Sleep disturbance (trouble falling/staying asleep or restless sleep)
If you recognize most of these symptoms appearing or worsening after a specific traumatic event, and they’ve lasted over a month, you very likely meet criteria for PTSD. Delayed-onset PTSD (symptoms starting 6+ months later) is also real and common.
Only a qualified mental health professional (psychiatrist, clinical psychologist, or licensed trauma therapist) can formally diagnose PTSD. Self-assessment tools like the PCL-5 can help you track severity, but they’re not a diagnosis. Seek an evidence-based evaluation early treatment (trauma-focused CBT, EMDR, or Prolonged Exposure) dramatically improves outcomes. You’re not “crazy”; your brain is stuck in survival mode after something genuinely overwhelming.