Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Post traumatic stress disorder is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to one or more terrifying events that threatened or caused grave physical harm. It is a severe and ongoing emotional reaction to an extreme psychological trauma. This stressor may involve someone’s actual death, a threat to the patient’s or someone else’s life,  serious physical injury,  or threat to physical or psychological integrity,  overwhelming psychological defenses. In some cases it can also be from profound psychological and emotional trauma, apart from any actual physical harm. Often, however, the two are combined.