Resiliency: PTSD

This LibGuide features materials related to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Please see below for instructions on how to navigate this guide:

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According to the American Psychological Association, the DSM-5, all of the following criteria are required for the diagnosis of PTSD:

Criterion A (1 required): The person was exposed to: death, threatened death, actual or threatened serious injury, or actual or threatened sexual violence, in the following ways:

• Direct exposure
• Witnessing the trauma
• Learning that the trauma happened to a close relative or close friend
• Indirect exposure to aversive details of the trauma, usually in the course of professional duties (e.g., first responders, medics)

Criterion B (1 required): The traumatic event is persistently re-experienced, in the following way(s):

• Unwanted upsetting memories
• Nightmares
• Flashbacks
• Emotional distress after exposure to traumatic reminders
• Physical reactivity after exposure to traumatic reminders

Criterion C (1 required): Avoidance of trauma-related stimuli after the trauma, in the following way(s):

• Trauma-related thoughts or feelings
• Trauma-related reminders

Criterion D (2 required): Negative thoughts or feelings that began or worsened after the trauma, in the following way(s):

• Inability to recall key features of the trauma
• Overly negative thoughts and assumptions about oneself or the world
• Exaggerated blame of self or others for causing the trauma
• Negative affect
• Decreased interest in activities
• Feeling isolated
• Difficulty experiencing positive affect

Criterion E (2 required): Trauma-related arousal and reactivity that began or worsened after the trauma, in the following way(s):

• Irritability or aggression
• Risky or destructive behavior
• Hypervigilance
• Heightened startle reaction
• Difficulty concentrating
• Difficulty sleeping

Criterion F (required): Symptoms last for more than 1 month.

Criterion G (required): Symptoms create distress or functional impairment (e.g., social, occupational).

Criterion H (required): Symptoms are not due to medication, substance use or other illness.

1. Dissociative Specification. In addition to meeting criteria for diagnosis, an individual experiences high levels of either of the following in reaction to trauma-related stimuli:
   • Depersonalization. Experience of being an outside observer of or detached from oneself (e.g., feeling as if "this is not happening to me" or one were in a dream).
   • Derealization. Experience of unreality, distance, or distortion (e.g., "things are not real").
2. Delayed Specification. Full diagnostic criteria are not met until at least 6 months after the trauma(s), although onset of symptoms may occur immediately.

Source(s):

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental health disorders (5th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596

Use the following search terms:

• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• PTSD
• Complex PTSD
• College Students
• Mental Health
• Military