The Facts
Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is a new name for a very old condition. Earlier in this century it was known as "shell shock" or "battle fatigue." Before then, it had no name. In PTSD, a witness or victim of a terrible event or tragedy is so haunted by memories of the event that personal health and personality is affected.
Research suggests that as many as 10% of the population will be affected at one time in their life with PTSD. Women are twice as likely to be affected as men. The specific type of trauma is important in the gender distribution. For example, 20% to 30% of women exposed to a physical attack or threatened with a weapon develop PTSD while only 2% of men will develop PTSD if exposed to the same trauma. However, 20% of women who are sexually assaulted develop PTSD, while 65% of men who are sexually assaulted develop PTSD. While 50% of the population is exposed to severe trauma at sometime during their life, less than 20% of these individuals will develop PTSD.