Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a disorder that can develop following a traumatic event that threatens your safety or makes you feel helpless. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is the most common diagnostic category used to describe symptoms arising from emotionally traumatic experience(s). This disorder presumes that the person experienced a traumatic event involving actual or threatened death or injury to themselves or others  and where they felt fear, helplessness or horror. Three additional symptom clusters, if they persist for more than a month after the traumatic event and cause clinically significant distress or impairment, make up the diagnostic criteria.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can affect those who personally experience the catastrophe, those who witness it, and those who pick up the pieces afterwards, including emergency workers and law enforcement officers. It can even occur in the friends or family members of those who went through the actual trauma. 

The symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can arise suddenly, gradually, or come and go over time.
It’s only natural to want to avoid painful memories and feelings. But if you try to numb yourself and push your memories away, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) will only get worse. You can’t escape your emotions completely they emerge under stress or whenever you let down your guard – and trying to do so is exhausting. The avoidance will ultimately harm your relationships, your ability to function, and the quality of your life.

Getting help for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

It was difficult to summarize what we know of trauma responses, as above, without feeling superficial and overly simplistic. If you suspect that you or a loved one has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), it’s important to seek help right away. When looking for a therapist for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), it’s important to find a PTSD therapist who makes you feel comfortable and safe, so there is no additional fear or anxiety about the treatment itself.

Exposure therapy may be more effective than cognitive restructuring because it eases the anxiety associated with the traumatic memory and corrects the belief that the memory must be avoided, in addition to encouraging self-control by managing the exposure exercise, the authors note. “The current findings suggest that direct activation of trauma memories is particularly useful for prevention of PTSD symptoms in patients with acute stress disorder,” they conclude. “Exposure should be used in early intervention for people who are at high risk for developing PTSD.”

A bibliography of recommended books "The Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Sourcebook: A Guide to Healing, Recovery, and Growth" is good resource to read.

On this book you'll find several excellent full-length pages about trauma, and more information about resources in the trauma field and treatment information.