Traumatic experiences can affect your life permanently. These incidents can haunt you over and over again. Most people who went through a difficult situation experiences nightmares and flashbacks. On its own, these unfortunate events are painful enough. But the lasting effects can be felt even after several years.
Posttraumatic stress disorder is the recurrent anxiety attacks that follow a severe and emotionally damaging experience. People who were in military combats and serious accidents are most likely to suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder. Rape victims, tortured prisoners, and those people who witnessed a crime are also prone to suffering from this disorder.
The symptoms of this disorder can continue to persist for a long time. A single traumatic experience can continue to plague you even after the unfortunate event has ended. For example, war veterans who survived the military combat may still have discomfort and anxieties even thought the war is already over or even when they are safely back in their homes. Seeing someone dying in front of you is not an easy picture to forget. Most of these war veterans had regularly experienced nightmares and flashbacks. A flashback is reliving the painful experience over and over again. Aside from nightmares and flashbacks, they may exhibit symptoms such as abnormal sensitivity to light and sound, impaired memory and lacking the ability to concentrate. The symptoms may vary from one person to another depending on the nature of their traumatic experiences. A rape victim may have flashbacks and nightmares of his rapist. Having to deal with these constantly amplifies the anxiety level of those people who have suffered so much.
