Condition PTSD
PTSD: when a past event won’t stay in the past
Post-traumatic stress disorder can follow any frightening, horrible, or life-threatening experience — combat, assault, an accident, abuse, a medical emergency, a disaster. It’s the mind and body staying in survival mode long after the danger has passed, replaying the event and bracing for it to happen again. It is common, it is not weakness, and it responds well to treatment.
If a past event still intrudes on your present, the PC-PTSD-5 PTSD screening is a brief, private first step. It won’t diagnose PTSD, but it will tell you whether a fuller evaluation is worth pursuing.
Clinically validated
Start the test Take the ptsd test
What ptsd can look like
PTSD symptoms cluster into four groups, present for more than a month after the event:
- Re-experiencing: nightmares, flashbacks, or intrusive memories
- Avoidance of reminders — places, people, conversations
- Being constantly on guard, jumpy, or easily startled
- Feeling numb, detached, or cut off from others
- Negative shifts in mood and thinking — guilt, blame, hopelessness
- Trouble sleeping or concentrating
When to seek help
- Symptoms have lasted more than a month and affect daily life.
- You’re avoiding important things to steer clear of reminders.
- You’re using alcohol or substances to cope, or you ever feel unsafe — call or text 988.
Questions worth asking a clinician
- Do my history and this screen point toward PTSD?
- What trauma-focused treatments (like EMDR or trauma-focused CBT) might fit me?
- Do I have to talk through the details to get help?
- How long does treatment usually take to help?
If you're in crisis right now
Call or text 988 - the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is free, confidential, and open 24/7.
This page is educational and is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. A screening is
an aid to understanding - always discuss your health with a qualified clinician.