Page 50 - Total War on PTSD

VA.gov: Veterans Affairs. (2020, March 9). Retrieved April 18, 2020, from https:// www.ptsd.va.gov/covid/
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CHAPTER 2 - SIGNS, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF PTSD Dr. Heidi Knock, Clinical Psychologist, Department of Veterans Affairs
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can result from a variety of traumatic experiences, affecting children and adults alike. Most lay people understand that individuals exposed to war can develop PTSD, however, any trauma, whether it was witnessed by or being directly threatening to, the individual can result in PTSD. Some examples of traumatic events include childhood abuse, car accidents, natural disasters, physical or sexual assault, being the victim of a crime, etc. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder-Fifth Edition (DSM-5), the prevalence rate of PTSD among adults is approximately 3.5%, with women having a higher occurrence rate than men. PTSD can be diagnosed anytime throughout the lifespan,