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That event keeps coming back.

Dr. Martha Schmitz, Clinical Psychologist, explains what PTSD is.

Transcript

PTSD, or posttraumatic stress disorder, is a condition

that many people have after they've been

in a life-threatening situation or where they feel

that their physical boundaries have been violated.

They often feel that that event keeps coming back

even when they don't want it to,

that it comes back during the daytime

or at nighttime in dreams.

It can come up when they're reminded of the event

out in the world, certain reminders can bring back

both emotional upset and also physical reactions

like sweaty palms or a fast-beating heart.

People can also notice that they're struggling

to manage anger, that they're having trouble sleeping,

or that in some way, they have to feel on guard all the time.

What then further makes the problems worse

is by trying to push them away or trying to avoid them.

What can often happen is, over time,

the person may start to feel emotionally numb,

that they're not able to feel the same kind of joy,

or happiness, or sense of humor that they used to feel,

may not enjoy activities the way they

used to enjoy activities.

And so we actually find that for most people,

coming in for treatment that helps them to be able

to look at the problems in a manageable way

will help with all of it.

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