What causes PTSD?
The situations that we consider traumatic vary from person to person so something you that you do not consider traumatic may be very traumatic to someone else. Here are some harmful and life threatening events which can cause PTSD to develop:
- being involved in a car crash
- being violently attacked
- being raped or sexually assaulted
- being abused, harassed or bullied
- being kidnapped
- seeing others being hurt or killed
- doing a job where you repeatedly see or hear details of a traumatic event
- traumatic childbirth (where the mother or partner witnesses a traumatic birth)
- extreme violence of war and military combat
- surviving a terrorist attack
- surviving a natural disaster
- being diagnosed with a life-threatening conditoin
- losing someone you are close to in a traumatic way
- learning that someone close to you has been affected by traumatic events
- any event where you fear for your life
Some people may be more vulnerable than others to developing PTSD. This can be because:
- experiencing repeated trauma
- having little or no support
- dealing with extra stress at the time of the tramatic event
- previously having anxiety or depression
Anyone can experience traumatic events but you are particularly likely to have experienced trauma if you:
- work in a high risk job (police, paramedic, fireman)
- are an asylum seeker or refugee
- were taken into foster care
Take a look below to see the different symptoms caused by PTSD:
