Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is an anxiety disorder that can develop after an individual has experienced or witnessed a major trauma. There are many different types of symptoms that someone can have after a trauma, but PTSD symptoms fall into 3 categories:

  1. Reliving or re-experiencing the trauma
  2. Attempts to avoid thoughts, situations, or people that are reminders of the trauma
  3. Increased anxiety or arousal, including being constantly on guard for danger, and being easily startled

There is no one type of trauma that can lead to PTSD. Rather, there are several different kinds of traumatic situations that can do this, all of which have certain common elements.