My Personal Definition of PTSD

As I read and study about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), I am finding very few definitions of PTSD. Many articles have a title stating that they are defining PTSD, but in reality they are simply describing the symptoms of PTSD. Even Wikipedia does not have a good definition of PTSD in my personal opinion.

I am by no means qualified professionally to write a definition for PTSD; however, I am a Vietnam War veteran who has been suffering from PTSD for forty-five years and this is my personal unofficial definition of PTSD based on my own personal experiences and thoughts.

My Personal Definition of PTSD...

"PTSD is an anxiety-based mental and physical health disease that is initiated by a direct involvement in and/or observation of severe traumatic events in which the victims life is threatened. These traumatic events are permanently embedded in the brain to create chronic symptomatic effects and occasional immediate acute recall when a trigger similar to the original traumatic event is experienced. The PTSD sufferer lives in a constant heightened state of vigilance, involuntarily generated by the brain as a means of self-perceived, self-survival necessity. When triggers are experienced, the PTSD victim will engage in involuntary extreme self-protective response actions to protect him/herself and/or others in the area. Even though the PTSD disease is based on and born from the long-term recollection of past traumatic experiences, the disease is really about the anticipated anxieties of self-perceived dangers in the immediate future.

David Rose - Vietnam Veteran - Combat Medic