What is post-traumatic stress disorder?

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a mental health condition triggered by a traumatic event, is characterized by many symptoms including flashbacks, nightmares, anxiety, and hypervigilance. PTSD is also sometimes called Post-traumatic stress (PTS) or Post-traumatic stress injury (PTSI).

How do members experience post-traumatic stress disorder?

Top 5 symptoms reported by people with post-traumatic stress disorder*

*Reports may be affected by other conditions and/or medication side effects. We ask about general symptoms (anxious mood, depressed mood, fatigue, pain, and stress) regardless of condition.

Top treatments taken by people for post-traumatic stress disorder*

*Data from patients with post-traumatic stress disorder, who have ever reported treatments, ordered by their reporting frequency during the last 5 years.

Compare treatments taken by people with post-traumatic stress disorder*

Treatment
Perceived effectiveness
Side effects
Total evaluations
Tried for
Treatment

(Zoloft)
Perceived effectiveness
for post-traumatic stress disorder (4 evaluations)
Side effects
lethargy
Total evaluations
5
Tried for
post-traumatic stress disorder (25)
Treatment

(Effexor XR)
Perceived effectiveness
for post-traumatic stress disorder (3 evaluations)
Side effects
Total evaluations
3
Tried for
post-traumatic stress disorder (14)
Treatment

(Prozac)
Perceived effectiveness
for post-traumatic stress disorder (6 evaluations)
Side effects
Total evaluations
6
Tried for
post-traumatic stress disorder (10)
Perceived effectiveness
for post-traumatic stress disorder (6 evaluations)
Side effects
obsessive thinking
Total evaluations
9
Tried for
post-traumatic stress disorder (9)
Treatment

(Paxil)
Perceived effectiveness
No evaluations
Side effects
No evaluations
Total evaluations
0
Tried for
post-traumatic stress disorder (7)

*Data from patients with post-traumatic stress disorder, who have ever reported treatments, ordered by their reporting frequency during the last 5 years.

Who has post-traumatic stress disorder on PatientsLikeMe?

Age

Age Proportion # of patients
<20 55
20s 1,031
30s 4,841
40s 8,527
50s 8,960
60s 5,996
70+ 2,251

Distribution of sex

Sex

Sex Proportion # of patients
Male 9,957
Female 21,752