Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is defined by ICD-10 F43.1 as follows:
It arises as a delayed or protracted response to a stressful event or situation of shorter or longer duration, of extraordinary threat or catastrophic magnitude, that would cause profound distress in almost anyone.
Predisposing factors such as certain obsessive-compulsive or asthenic personality traits or a history of neurotic illness may lower the threshold for the development of this syndrome and complicate its course, but the latter factors are neither necessary nor sufficient to explain the onset of the disorder.
Typical features include repeated reliving of the trauma in intrusive memories (reverberations, flashbacks), dreams, or nightmares, occurring against a background of a persistent feeling of numbness and emotional dullness. Furthermore, indifference towards other people, apathy towards the environment, joylessness, and avoidance of activities and situations that might evoke memories of the trauma are found.
In most cases, a state of vegetative overexcitement with an increase in vigilance, excessive startle response and sleep disturbance occurs. Anxiety and depression are often associated with the above symptoms and features, and suicidal ideation is not uncommon. Onset follows trauma with a latency that may last a few weeks to months.
The course is variable, but in the majority of cases recovery can be expected. In a few cases, the disorder takes a chronic course over many years and then progresses to persistent personality change (ICD-10 F62.0).
Posttraumatic stress disorder is classified by event type [mod. by):
| Trauma | Type I trauma(one-time/short-term). | Type-II traumas(multiple/long-term) |
| Accidental(randomly occurring) |
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| Interpersonal(“man-made”/human caused) |
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