Skip to main content Skip to Search Box
Definition: post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from The Penguin Dictionary of Psychology

An ANXIETY DISORDER that emerges following a psychologically distressing, traumatic event such as a natural disaster, a bad accident, war or rape. The syndrome includes re-experiencing the trauma in dreams, recurrent thoughts and images, a kind of psychological numbness with an accompanying lessening of feeling of involvement with the world around one, hypervigilance, and an exaggerated startle response. In psychiatric diagnosis, the term is not applied until the symptoms have continued for at least a month; prior to that the condition is called an acute stress disorder.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

From Black's Medical Dictionary, 43rd Edition
A term introduced to PSYCHIATRY in 1980 after the Vietnam War. It is one of several psychiatric disorders that can develop in people exposed to severe trauma, such as a major physical injury, participation in warfare, assault or rape, or any event in which there is major loss of life or a threat of loss of life. Most people exposed to trauma do not develop psychiatric disorder; however, some develop immediate distress and, occasionally, the reaction can be delayed for many months. Someone with PTSD has regular recurrences of memories or images of the stressful event (‘flashbacks’), especially when reminded of it. Insomnia, feelings of guilt and isolation, an inability to concentrate and irritability may result. DEPRESSION is very common. Support from friends and family is probably the best management, but those who do not recover quickly can be helped by antidepressants and psychological treatments such as COGNITIVE BEHAVIOUR THERAPY . Over the past few years, PTSD has featured…
1,051 results
The psychiatric disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), may develop when individuals are witness to or directly experience various life-threatening events, including violent personal victimization, war combat, or natural disasters. The disorder is marked by sleep-related problems such as…
| 446 words
Key concepts:

Full text Article Post-traumatic stress disorder

From Cambridge Handbook of Psychology, Health and Medicine
The history of medicine, occupational health and psychiatry has been punctuated by recurring themes related to what is now called post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). For several centuries, aversions to, and maladies from, extremely stressful events have been described, but clues to their causes…
| 5,611 words
Key concepts:

Full text Article Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

From Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science
Post-traumatic stress disorder is an anxiety disorder in which an individual’s ability to function is impaired by emotional responses to memories of a traumatic event. The diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) first appeared in the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual…
| 2,375 words
Key concepts:
(PTSD), mental disorder that follows an occurrence of extreme psychological stress, such as that encountered in war or resulting from violence, childhood abuse, sexual abuse, or serious accident. The stressful event is usually followed by a period of emotional numbness and denial that can last for…
| 431 words
Key concepts:
Common symptoms following exposure to trauma...
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a psychological disorder triggered by an extremely traumatic event; examples include rape, war, a terrorist act, death of a loved one, natural disaster, or a catastrophic accident. The symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be recognized at many…
| 2,403 words , 1 image
Key concepts:

Full text Article Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

From The Gale Encyclopedia of Senior Health
Events among adults aged 60 years and older with...
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe psychological condition that causes feelings of helplessness or overwhelming fear as a result to of viewing or being a part of a traumatic event that causes death, serious bodily harm, or severe emotional injury. These events may include loss of a…
| 1,696 words , 1 image
Key concepts:
SOURCE: National Center for PTSD, Department of...
Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is a condition in which a person has longlasting psychological symptoms after experiencing an extremely stressful event. In PTSD, people who have survived a terrifying event relive their terror in nightmares, memories, and feelings of fear. It can be severe…
| 2,779 words , 1 image
Key concepts:

Full text Article Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

From Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a complex anxiety disorder that may occur after individuals experience or witness an event perceived as a threat and in which they experience fear, terror, or helplessness. PTSD is sometimes summarized as a normal reaction to abnormal events. It was first…
| 4,496 words

Full text Article Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

From Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder primarily caused by reactions to traumatic events. Once thought to be experienced primarily by war veterans, PTSD is now known to occur in survivors of domestic, sexual, physical, or emotional abuse, victims of criminal violence, and in…
| 1,887 words
Key concepts:
Researchers have found that many victims of partner violence suffer from PTSD. Golding (1999), for example, conducted a meta-analysis of studies examining mental health problems in women victims of partner violence, and found that across 11 studies examined, the average prevalence of Post-Traumatic…
| 208 words
Key concepts:
Mind Map

Stack overflow
More Library Resources