Online PTSD Quiz

Thank you for taking our PTSD test! Below is a little bit more information about this disorder as well as links to mental health professionals who can help you.

What is PTSD

Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is a mental health condition that appears after someone experiences or witnesses a traumatic or terrifying event.

According to psychiatry.org, PTSD is

"a psychiatric disorder that may occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event such as a natural disaster, a serious accident, a terrorist act, war/combat, or rape or who have been threatened with death, sexual violence or serious injury."

PTSD is commonly thought of a mental health disorder that is linked to soldiers after war, but PTSD can happy to anyone, any ethnicity, any nationality, any culture, and at any age. Approximately 3.5% of U.S. adults are affected by PTSD.

Do I have PTSD? Signs and Symptoms of PTSD

PTSD may start within 1 month of a traumatic event, but sometimes can appear years after an event. Symptoms of PTSD can greatly affect social and work situations, and relationships.

PTSD symptoms are typically grouped into 4 categories: intrusive memories, avoidance, negative changes in thinking and mood changes, and changes in physical and emotional reactions. Let's learn more about each category:

Intrusive Memories

For a person with PTSD and intrusive memories, symptoms may include:

• Troubling dreams about the traumatic event
• Severe emotional distress when something reminds them of their traumatic event
• Having flashbacks, or reliving the event over and over again
• Having unwanted memories of the traumatic event

Avoidance

For those who have PTSD and avoidance, symptoms may include:

• Avoiding places, thoughts, or people that make them remember their traumatic event
• Avoiding thoughts related to the traumatic event

Negative Changes in Thinking or Mood

For a person with PTSD and negative changes in thinking or mood, symptoms may include:

• Feeling numb emotionally
• Lack of interest in activities once enjoyed
• A difficulty in creating or maintaining strong relationships
• Feeling negative emotions and difficulty feeling positive ones
• Forgetting certain parts of the traumatic event or other memory problems
• Feeling hopeless about things in the future
• Having negative thoughts generally about yourself, others, or the world

Changes in Physical and Emotional Reactions

For a person with PTSD and changes in physical and emotional reactions, symptoms may include:

• Feeling overwhelmed with guilt or shame
• Having trouble sleeping
• Having difficulty concentrating
• Self destructive behavior
• Being paranoid in looking for danger
• Being easily scared or frightened
• Having angry outbursts or unusual aggressive behavior

DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria for PTSD

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), or DSM-5, outlines that all of the following criteria are required for a diagnosis of PTSD:

Criterion A: Stressor - One is Required

Criterion B: Symptoms of Intrusion - One is Required

Criterion C: Avoidance - One is Required

Criterion D: Negative Alterations in Mood and Cognitions - Two are Required

Criterion E: Alterations in Arousel and Reactivity

Criterion F: Symptoms Duration

PTSD symptoms must last for more than one month.

Criterion G: Functional Significance

Criterion H: Exclusion

Your symptoms cannot be caused by medications taken, substance abuse, or other illness

Two Specifications

Dissociative Specification

In addition to the above criterion for diagnosis, an individual experiences high levels of either of the following reactions:

• Depersonalization - An experience that someone suffering from PTSD may have that feels as if they are detached from themselves, or an outside observer. They may feel as if they were in a dream.
• Derealization - An experience that someone suffering from PTSD may have that things are not real, things are distorted.

Delayed Specification

An individual with delayed specification will not meet full diagnostic criteria until at least 6 months after the trauma occurred. Some onset of symptoms may occur quickly or immediately.

PTSD Treatment

If you need help, there is hope! Reach out to a licensed mental health professional that treats PTSD.