Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
1 medicine
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that develops after a traumatic event, causing intrusive memories, avoidance, and heightened alertness. It's treated with trauma-focused therapy and, when needed, SSRIs such as sertraline.
Key facts
- PTSD is a mental health condition that can develop after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event, and it differs from an ordinary stress response by persisting for months or years.
- Symptoms fall into four patterns: intrusive flashbacks or nightmares, avoidance of reminders, negative shifts in mood or thinking, and heightened alertness that disrupts sleep and concentration.
- Trauma-focused talking therapy is usually the first approach; when medicine is needed, antidepressants, especially SSRIs like sertraline, are the most studied option.
- Contact a mental health helpline or emergency service if you're in crisis or having thoughts of harming yourself.
How PTSD shows up
PTSD can follow any severely distressing event: an accident, an assault, combat, a natural disaster, or witnessing serious harm to someone else. Anyone can develop it, though earlier trauma and a lack of support afterward raise the risk. Symptoms fall into four broad patterns: intrusion (flashbacks, nightmares), avoidance (steering clear of reminders), negative shifts in mood or thinking, and a heightened state of alertness that makes sleep and concentration difficult. Not everyone experiences all four, and severity varies widely. Symptoms can appear within weeks of the trauma or surface years later.
Managing PTSD
Trauma-focused talking therapies are generally the first approach. Common options include cognitive behavioural therapy adapted for trauma and eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR), both of which help the brain process traumatic memories so they lose their intensity over time. When medicine is needed, antidepressants are the most studied class for PTSD, particularly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as sertraline, which can reduce the intensity of intrusive symptoms and improve overall mood.
When to get help
If you're in crisis or having thoughts of harming yourself, contact a local mental health helpline or emergency service straightaway. Hospital emergency departments can also provide urgent psychiatric support.
This page is educational and does not replace advice from a doctor or pharmacist who knows your health history.