770.427.5498 
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, “PTSD is a disorder that develops in some people who have experienced a shocking, scary, or dangerous event.” During and after people go through scary situations, it is natural for them to feel afraid. When someone is afraid, their fear can trigger the body’s fight-or-flight response, which is designed to protect the individual from physical harm.
Most people who experience trauma go through various natural reactions. While some people recover from the trauma over time, others continue to experience adverse reactions to the traumatic event. Often, such individuals are diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. An individual with PTSD may feel scared, frightened or anxious, even when the danger is no longer there.
Signs and Symptoms of PTSD
When someone experiences symptoms of PTSD for more than a month, it can interfere with their ability to sleep, work and enjoy relationships with friends and family – it can become debilitating. The course of PTSD varies from person-to-person; one person can recover fully after six months, while another can have the condition for years. For some sufferers, they suffer from PTSD chronically.
Signs and symptoms of PTSD include but are not limited to:
- Nightmares
- Feeling “on edge”
- Easily startled
- Having trouble sleeping
- Anger outbursts
- Having scary thoughts
- Flashbacks of the traumatic event
- Avoiding situations and places that remind the person of the traumatic event
“Children and teens can have extreme reactions to trauma, but their symptoms may not be the same as adults,” according to the NIMH. For example, a small child who experiences PTSD may forget how to talk, they may go back to wetting the bed and they may become extra clingy to a parent.
PTSD After a Personal Injury Accident
It is not uncommon for someone to develop symptoms of PTSD after being involved in some type of injury accident. The NIMH explains that people can develop PTSD at any age and that it happens to “people who have been through a physical or sexual assault, abuse, accident, disaster, or many other serious events.”
Some of the factors that increase the risk of developing PTSD include:
- Feeling helpless.
- Feeling extreme fear.
- Being injured in an accident.
- Seeing someone else get hurt.
- Seeing another person’s dead body.
- Living through a dangerous event.
- Living through a traumatic event.
- Dealing with the additional stress of a difficult event, such as job loss, loss of a loved one, injury and pain.
Are you or someone you love experiencing symptoms of PTSD after being in an accident? If so, realize that it’s not unusual for accident victims to suffer from PTSD, especially after a serious car wreck, a dog bite or attack, or medical malpractice. To learn about your rights to compensation, contact us today to meet with a Smyrna personal injury attorney for free.
