Symptoms of PTSD

[anthony]

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms

The symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder are broken into three main categories, being:

Intrusive,
Avoidance, and
Arousal
Intrusive comprises:

Distressing memories or images of the incident
Nightmares of the event or other frightening themes
Flashbacks (reliving the event)
Becoming upset when reminded of the incident
Physical symptoms, such as sweating, heart racing, or muscle tension when reminded of the event
Avoidance comprises:

Trying to avoid any reminders of the trauma, such as thoughts, feelings, conversations, activities, places and people
Gaps in memory – forgetting parts of the experience
Losing interest in normal activities
Feeling cut-off or detached from loved ones
Feeling flat or numb
Difficulty imagining a future
Arousal comprises:

Sleep disturbance
Anger and irritability
Concentration problems
Constantly on the look-out for signs of danger
Jumpy, easily startled
You can find more information about each from the DVA website (http://www.dva.gov.au/health/counsell/ptsd/symptoms.htm).

[anthony]

In addition to the above, the following is a comprehensive guide, in both health and laymans terms, on the full conditions that those affected by PTSD can/do suffer.

The first part is the correct symptom outlined from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, and the bold on the right are the laymans interpretation.

recurring memories of the traumatic event which you can't seem to get out of your mind - Intrusive Thoughts
recurring dreams of the trauma - Bad Dreams & Nightmares
feeling that the traumatic even was happening again (hallucinations, flashbacks) - Reliving The Trauma
things or events act as triggers which remind you or resemble your traumatic event - Flashbacks
these triggers or reminders make you feel nervous, tense, generate panic attacks - Panic Attacks
purposely avoiding thoughts, feelings or conversations about trauma - Withdrawn
deliberately avoiding activities, places and situations about the trauma - Phobias
when trying to recall the traumatic event you are unable to recall or remember certain things or important aspects that had happened - Memory Loss
losing interest in people, things and activities (family, friends and hobbies) which were important to you prior to the traumatic event - Lack of Motivation
feeling more emotionally estranged, separated or feeling cut off from others - Alienation
feeling a markedly reduced ability to feel emotions, especially those associated wtih intimacy, tenderness and sexuality - Lacking Emotions
difficutly falling or staying asleep - Poor Sleep
experiencing irritability or outbursts of anger - Rage
difficulty concentrating on tasks or completing tasks - Poor Concentration
feeling overtly alert or watchful when you don't need to be - Ever Watchful
having strong startle reactions - Edgy
worrying about coping with everyday situations - Lack of Confidence
difficulty keeping a regular job - Work Difficulties
This information was quoted from the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) book "A Vietnam Veterans Experience", by Wayne J Scott.