What Is PTSD? Understanding Symptoms, Causes, and Effective Treatment Options

Post-trauma, or PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), is a physical and emotional response that occurs after experiencing a traumatic event. This response can show up in various symptoms and often lingers in both the body and mind long after the traumatic event has passed. If these symptoms continue for more than a month, it may indicate that the person is suffering from chronic PTSD.

What Is a Traumatic Event?

A traumatic event is any overwhelming, threatening experience that causes intense fear, helplessness, or emotional suffering. It could be any form of violence, assault, robbery, war, a terrorist attack, a car accident, a workplace incident, a natural disaster like a fire or flood, a severe medical emergency, or anything else that feels like it threatens your life or well-being.

It could be one traumatic event or a series of events. In some cases, it might even be an entire phase of life lived under constant threat- like those who endure daily rocket fire or grow up in violent, emotionally abusive households.

PTSD Symptoms

Even though traumatic experiences vary from human-inflicted harm to accidents or disasters, the symptoms of PTSD tend to fall into three main categories:

1. Hyperarousal (Over-alertness)
   A constant sense of physical and emotional unease. Sudden sounds or movements can trigger intense reactions. The person is always bracing for the next disaster. Even minor triggers can lead to outbursts of anger or frustration.

2. Emotional Numbness and Avoidance
   To avoid emotional flooding, many trauma survivors become emotionally detached. They distance themselves from others, withdraw from social events, and struggle to feel love or intimacy. This emotional numbing can lead to loneliness and isolation.

3. Intrusive Memories (Re-experiencing)
   The traumatic event replays itself through vivid memories, nightmares, or flashbacks, making it feel as if it’s happening all over again. Sleep becomes disrupted- short, fragmented, and often filled with disturbing dreams. Specific sounds, smells, or images can trigger those memories. The person may replay the event mentally over and over, often unable to fully recall all of it, which adds to the confusion.

Not all of these symptoms need to be present for someone to be diagnosed with PTSD. Often, symptoms emerge soon after the event, but in some cases, they may surface months, or even years later.

Treatment for PTSD

The most widely used and effective treatment today is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Over time, this approach has evolved to include various techniques that help people process trauma in a structured, supportive way.

In therapy, the person gradually revisits and processes the traumatic experience from different angles, supported by a professional. This often includes gentle exposure to elements related to the trauma (for example, visiting the place where the event occurred) in order to confront and reshape how the brain perceives the situation.

Therapy also focuses on identifying and restructuring harmful thought patterns that keep the trauma alive. These are replaced with healthier, more grounded, and optimistic thoughts, based on the real, current reality rather than the fearful internal narrative.

CBT has shown a high success rate in treating PTSD and helping people reclaim their lives.

Orly Samira is a psychotherapist and CBT specialist.