When a person has PTSD, his or her trauma symptoms either remain severe or worsen, leading to considerable life disruption and impaired functioning. Trauma that causes PTSD can be the result of a variety of experiences ranging from a life-threatening situation, a natural disaster, or physical harm to emotional or sexual abuse, neglect, serious illness, or injury. Sometimes trauma results from a specific event, but in other cases it stems from multiple or varying incidents that occurred over a period of time. The degree to which a person’s mental, physical, and emotional health was damaged, as well as how they perceived the event, may influence the development of PTSD.

Many individuals will silently suffer from PTSD and seek to minimize its effects through self-destructive activities, such as medicating traumatic memories with drugs, alcohol, food, or sexual behaviors. PTSD can also lead to the development of other mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, and even personality disorders. Trauma may be embedded deep in the psyche and must be resolved for the individual to find healing and relief.