Posttraumatic stress disorder
After exposure to actual or threatened death/serious injury/sexual violence.
How it presents
re-experiencing (intrusions, nightmares, flashbacks), avoidance, negative cognitions/mood, hyperarousal (hypervigilance, startle, sleep), ≥1 month, functional impairment
Tell it apart from
- Acute stress disorder
- Adjustment disorder
- Anxiety disorders
- Malingering (compensation context)
Treatment reasoning
Prolonged exposure, cognitive processing therapy (CPT), EMDR; SSRIs/SNRIs; trauma-focused CBT is first-line.