It is common for people to experience symptoms of PTSD in the days and weeks following a potentially traumatic event. Īlthough the ICD-11 does not have the 4th group of symptoms related to changes in thoughts and feelings, it does have a separate diagnosis called Complex PTSD which is described in more detail below. This may make assessment more straight-forward but may also lead to some children and young people who have less-common patterns of symptoms not receiving a diagnosis of PTSD. Whereas the ICD-11 has taken a more restricted approach and focused on just two symptoms from each of the three core groups above. This broader array of symptoms increases the overlap with other mental health difficulties but allows for a wider range of symptom profiles to be classified as PTSD. Feeling detached or estranged from others and finding it impossible to experience positive emotions.Having distorted thoughts about what caused the event or events and the consequences.Exaggerated negative beliefs about themselves, the world or other people.The DSM-5 has taken a much broader approach and lists many more symptoms from each of the three groups above as well as including an additional set of symptoms related to changes in thoughts and feelings, such as: Arousal and reactivity or sense of current threat (such as irritability, being overly vigilant, being easily startled, concentration problems, sleep problems).Avoidance (such as avoiding thoughts, feelings or memories of the event or events, or avoiding people, places, conversations or situations that are associated with the event or the events).Intrusions or re-experiencing of the event (such as intrusive memories, repetitive play in which the events or aspects of it are expressed, nightmares, flashbacks, distress triggered by reminders of the event or events).These are sometimes considered to be the core symptoms of PTSD: There are three groups of symptoms that are common to both the ICD-11 and the DSM-5 criteria. It is worth noting here that there are events that might not meet these particular criteria, but which may nevertheless be traumatic for the child or young person and may lead to the symptoms of PTSD described below, or to other significant mental health difficulties. Whereas according to the ICD-11, the event or events must have been “extremely threatening or horrific”. The actual criteria have changed a bit over time.Īccording to the DSM-5, in order to fulfil the criteria for a diagnosis of PTSD, the person must have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event that involved “actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence”. PTSD was first officially defined in 1980 when the APA published the 3rd edition of its diagnostic classification system the DSM-III. What is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)? For others it may feel stigmatising, reductive, meaningless or result in them feeling like they are being treated as a set of symptoms rather than a person. For some people it helps them explain or make sense of the experiences they have had and the impact it has had on their lives. People find different kinds of meaning in diagnosis. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual – 5th Edition (DSM-5) produced by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). The International Classification of Diseases – 11 th Revision (ICD-11) produced by the World Health Organisation (WHO).There are two similar but not identical, recognised sets of diagnostic criteria for mental health problems: In some cases, a person’s particular profile of difficulties may not meet the threshold for a diagnosis, but they can still be very distressing and warrant treatment. Identifying these groupings helps professionals communicate effectively and, more importantly, supports research to identify what works to help people experiencing difficulties. In mental health, diagnoses often describe a group of shared thoughts, behaviours and symptoms. A diagnosis should help the person experiencing symptoms and should always be used in the context of a wider understanding of the person’s needs, challenges and strengths when developing care plans. Official diagnostic criteria describe which symptoms are necessary for any particular diagnosis. What is a diagnosis?Ī diagnosis is a formal label that describes a certain set of problems or symptoms. PTSD does not describe the full range of reactions to traumatic events there will be many children and young people who are ‘traumatised’ by events, but their particular difficulties will not fulfil the criteria for PTSD. PTSD is the diagnostic label used to describe a particular profile of symptoms that people sometimes develop after experiencing or witnessing a potentially traumatic event or events.
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