#TRAUMA DEFINITION MANUAL#

'Just because someone isn't experiencing what we consider 'classic' PTSD symptoms-such as intense fear or horror or nightmares-doesn't mean that they didn't experience a trauma, and that they aren't having difficulty processing what has happened.' 'It's also important to note that people experience trauma in many different ways,' he explains. One distinction that has been made, Fried says, is that the effects of traumas that aren't life-threatening don't meet the diagnostic criteria for PTSD, and instead fall within the 'Trauma and Stressor-Related Disorders' group in the DSM. 'At first, it was noticed in people who had lived through a horrific event, but eventually it was recognized that anyone who is directly or indirectly exposed to trauma can develop PTSD.' 'Then, it was soon discovered that people who had never been to war were also showing this same pattern of symptoms,' LeBlanc says. However, since its recognition in 1980, the DSM has never made a distinction in terms of the type of trauma that can result in PTSD-except that it has to be life-threatening, like a violent crime, car accident, natural disaster, or abuse, he says.īecause of its initial connection to war, PTSD was referred to by a number of other terms, including 'war neurosis,' 'combat fatigue,' and 'shell shock,' which only added to the confusion.

#TRAUMA DEFINITION MANUAL#

But PTSD was only recognized in a clinical context following the Vietnam War, when massive numbers of soldiers started showing a clear and undeniable pattern of symptoms, including reliving trauma, hyper-arousal, avoidance behavior, and recurring nightmares, she notes.Īt that point, Fried explains, the research and literature were primarily focused on combat-related PTSD, leading up to the condition being formally introduced as a diagnosis in The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in 1980. So where does PTSD come in? According to Lise LeBlanc, a registered psychotherapist specializing in trauma and author of the PTSD Guide, early works of literature show evidence of PTSD more than 3,000 years ago-long before the advent of modern psychiatry. 'Sometimes people experience horrific things that most others would label as a trauma, but may not feel like the term 'trauma' is necessarily representative of their experience.' 'I think everyone's definition of 'trauma' is different, so it can be hard for some people to think about their experience in those terms,' Fried says. Fried, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and director of the clinical psychology program at Midwestern University in Glendale, Ariz. Part of the confusion over the distinctions between trauma and PTSD stems from the fact that people have different understandings and definitions of what's considered trauma, says Adam L.

01 of 03 The difference between trauma and PTSD

Trauma definition