What causes Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)?

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a mental health condition triggered after experiencing or witnessing a terrifying event. The condition can cause severe anxiety, repeated flashbacks, uncontrollable thoughts, and nightmares and affect your personal and professional life. While some people experience the symptoms of PTSD for a couple of months, and things get better with each passing day, others may find it challenging to cope with the condition and require professional help and treatment.

Read on to understand what causes of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Causes of PTSD

The following are main causes of PTSD:

1. Experiencing or seeing a stressful, distressing, and frightening event

2. Being in a car crash or any other serious accident

3. Witnessing a serious accident

4. Being abused, bullied or harassed

5. Facing racism or sexism

6. Experiencing physical or sexual assault

7. Childhood or domestic abuse

8. Death of a close family member or friend

9. Getting diagnosed with a severe disease

10. Experiencing a natural disaster

11. Seeing a terrorist attack or any other crime

Any unpleasant experience that triggers shock and fear can also lead to PTSD in children and adults. The condition can worsen if not dealt with on time.

Risk factors of PTSD

It is important to understand that not everyone who goes through a traumatic situation develops PTSD. There are some factors that can increase the chances of developing this condition. This includes:

• Experiencing any kind of abuse as a child

• Lack of required support after a traumatic event

• Family history of anxiety, depression or a similar mental health condition

• Having a history of substance misuse, such as taking drugs or consuming alcohol regularly

• Serious physical injury due to an event

• Experiencing intense trauma