What is PTSD?

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health problem you may develop after experiencing traumatic events . The condition was first recognised in war veterans. It has had different names in the past, such as 'shell shock', but it's not only diagnosed in soldiers. A wide range of traumatic experiences can be causes of PTSD.

Are there different types of PTSD?

If you are given a diagnosis of PTSD, you might be told that you have mild, moderate or severe PTSD. This explains what sort of impact your symptoms are having on you currently - it's not a description of how frightening or upsetting your experiences might have been.
PTSD may be described differently in some situations:
Delayed-onset PTSD. If your symptoms emerge more than six months after experiencing trauma, this might be described as 'delayed PTSD' or 'delayed-onset PTSD'.
Complex PTSD. If you experienced trauma at an early age or it lasted for a long time, you might be given a diagnosis of 'complex PTSD'.
Birth trauma. PTSD that develops after a traumatic experience of childbirth is also known as 'birth trauma'.

Complex PTSD
If you experience some PTSD symptoms while supporting someone close to you who's experienced trauma, this is sometimes known as secondary trauma.
See our pages on trauma for more information on how traumatic experiences can affect your mental health.

What is Survivors Guilt?

Survivor's guilt is when a person has feelings of guilt because they survived a life-threatening situation when others did not. It is a common reaction to traumatic events and a symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

People with survivor's guilt can often experience other symptoms of PTSD, including:

• Flashbacks of the traumatic event.
  
• Obsessive thoughts about the event.
  
• Irritability and anger.
  
• Feelings of helplessness and disconnection.
  

fear and confusion.

• Lack of motivation.
  
• Problems sleeping.
  
• Headaches.
  

What is complex PTSD?

The main symptoms of PTSD and complex PTSD are the same. Complex PTSD is sometimes known as c-PTSD, or CPTSD. If you have complex PTSD, you may have extra symptoms such as:

• Issues with keeping a relationship,
  
• Finding it difficult to feel connected to other people,
  
• A belief that you are worthless with deep feelings of shame, guilt or failure that can be related to the trauma, and
  
• Difficulty controlling your emotions.
  
• You're more likely to develop complex PTSD if your trauma has been an ongoing event. Or series of different traumatic events. The trauma might be very threatening or frightening.
  
• Most commonly from a trauma which you weren't able to escape from such as:
  
• Torture,
  
• Slavery,
  
• A long period of domestic abuse, or
  
• A long period of sexual or physical abuse as a child or adult.
  

If you have experienced depression or anxiety now or in the past, you are at a higher risk of developing PTSD.

Treatment for PTSD

NICE guidance (updated in 2018) recommends trauma-focused psychological treatments such as EMDR, and trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy CBT. or talk to your doctor about treatment with appropriate prescription drugs.