Is there anything I can do to avoid developing post-traumatic stress disorder?

Is there anything I can do to avoid developing post-traumatic stress disorder?

Christopher Reist (Academic Psychiatrist, Co-Author of “Psychiatry”) gives expert video advice on: What are the most common causes of post-traumatic stress disorder?; What are the most common dangers associated with post-traumatic stress disorder?; Is there anything I can do to avoid developing post-traumatic stress disorder? and more...

It's difficult to say who is going to develop PTSD after a traumatic event. As we're seeing in combat experiences, there are individuals that are exposed to identical situations. Some develop PTSD, others don't. Hopefully, in the future we'll understand what some of those risk factors that predispose an individual to develop the disease are. However, what you can do is if you suspect you're having symptoms then get treatment as early as possible. What we really want to do is prevent the symptoms from becoming chronic to where they resolve in social isolation and impairment of job functioning or become complicated by substance abuse or other psychiatric disorders.