Exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence occurs directly, by witnessing, by learning it happened to a close other, or through repeated exposure to aversive details in professional duties.

One or more intrusion symptoms are present after the trauma, such as distressing memories, distressing dreams, dissociative reactions such as flashbacks, intense distress with reminders, or marked physiologic reactivity to reminders.

Persistent avoidance of trauma-related stimuli is present, involving avoidance of memories-thoughts-feelings or avoidance of external reminders.

Two or more negative changes in cognition or mood are present, such as inability to remember important aspects of the event, persistent negative beliefs, distorted blame, persistent negative emotional state, diminished interest, detachment, or inability to experience positive emotions.

Two or more arousal or reactivity symptoms are present, such as irritability, reckless behavior, hypervigilance, exaggerated startle, poor concentration, or sleep disturbance.

PTSD develops after a qualifying trauma and often shows up as a mix of reliving, avoidance, emotional constriction, negative beliefs, hypervigilance, and a nervous system that no longer seems able to stand down.
Exposure first: The first question is always whether the trauma exposure actually meets diagnostic threshold, whether direct, witnessed, learned about, or repeatedly encountered in professional work.
Four symptom clusters: Once exposure is established, it helps to organize the picture into intrusion, avoidance, negative mood-cognition changes, and arousal-reactivity symptoms.
Function matters: The symptoms have to matter clinically. They should be causing distress, impairment, or both, and not be better explained by substances or medical illness.
Clinical focus: Most common self-report PTSD severity measure mapped to DSM-5 symptom clusters.

Most common self-report PTSD severity measure mapped to DSM-5 symptom clusters.

Gold-standard structured clinician interview for diagnostic confirmation and severity.

Often paired to track comorbid depressive burden.

Among antidepressants, selected SSRIs carry PTSD labeling; other agents often used in practice may not have diagnosis-specific FDA approval.

TMS is under investigation for PTSD symptom clusters.
Ketamine-assisted approaches are being studied for refractory PTSD.
ECT may be considered in severe comorbid depression with PTSD rather than PTSD alone.

Simple Psych

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder