Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that may occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event such as a natural disaster, a severe accident, a terrorist act, war/combat, or rape or who have been threatened with death, sexual violence or severe injury.
PTSD can occur in all people of any ethnicity, nationality, culture, and age. PTSD affects approximately 3.5 percent of U.S. adults every year. An estimated one in 11 people will be diagnosed with PTSD in their lifetime. Women are twice as likely as men to have PTSD.
People with PTSD have intense, disturbing thoughts and feelings related to their experience that last long after the traumatic event. They may relive the event through flashbacks or nightmares, they may feel sadness, fear, or anger, and they may feel detached or estranged from other people. People with PTSD may avoid situations or people that remind them of the traumatic event, and they may have strong adverse reactions to something as ordinary as a loud noise or an accidental touch.
People with a diagnosis of PTSD are defended and insecure about many things in life. To begin the process of healing in a therapeutic environment, it is important to create a safe place in which the individual can explore and share their experiences and understand why they are experiencing life as they do. This book may offer much to promote the healing and growth of those affected by complex trauma.