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post-traumatic stress disorder
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post-traumatic stress disorder

psychology
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Also known as: PTSD, post-traumatic stress syndrome
Written by
Robert E. Emery
Professor of psychology and director, Center for Children, Families, and the Law, University of Virginia, U.S. Author of Marriage, Divorce, and Children's Adjustment.
Robert E. Emery
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Also called:
post-traumatic stress syndrome

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post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), emotional condition that sometimes follows a traumatic event, particularly an event that involves actual or threatened death or serious bodily injury to oneself or others and that creates intense feelings of fear, helplessness, or horror. The symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder include the reexperiencing of the trauma either through upsetting thoughts or memories or, in extreme cases, through a flashback in which the trauma is relived at full emotional intensity. People with PTSD often report a general feeling of emotional numbness, experience increased anxiety and vigilance, and avoid reminders of the trauma, such as specific situations, ...(100 of 671 words)

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