Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can develop following a traumatic event that threatens your safety or makes you feel helpless.  It can affect those who personally experience the catastrophe, those who witness it, and those who pick up the pieces afterwards, including emergency workers and law enforcement officers. It can even occur in the friends or family members of those who went through the actual trauma.

PTSD develops differently from person to person. While the symptoms of PTSD most commonly develop in the hours or days following the traumatic event, it can sometimes take weeks, months, or even years before they appear. The symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can arise suddenly, gradually, or come and go over time. Sometimes symptoms appear seemingly out of the blue. At other times, they are triggered by something reminding of the original traumatic event, such as a noise, an image, certain words, or a smell. There are three main types of symptoms:

• Re-experiencing the traumatic event
• Avoiding reminders of the trauma
• Increased anxiety

In treatment for PTSD you will:

• Explore your thoughts and feelings about the trauma
• Learn to understand feelings of guilt, self- blame, and mistrust
• Understand how to cope with and control intrusive memories
• Address problems that PTSD has caused in life’s relationships