If you have gone through a traumatic experience, it is normal to
feel lots of emotions, such as distress, fear, helplessness,
guilt, shame or anger. You may start to feel better after days
or weeks, but sometimes, these feelings don’t go away. If the
symptoms last for more than a month, you may have post-traumatic
stress disorder or PTSD. "Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
is an anxiety disorder that can occur following the experience
or witnessing of a traumatic event. A traumatic event is a life-
threatening event such as military combat, natural disasters,
terrorist incidents, serious accidents, or physical or sexual
assault in adult or childhood." PTSD is a real problem and can
happen at any age. If you have PTSD, you are not alone. It
affects nearly eight million American adults. For many people,
symptoms begin almost right away after the trauma happens. For
others, the symptoms may not begin or may not become a problem
until years later. Symptoms of PTSD may include: These are other
symptoms of PTSD: