Can a Romantic Breakup Cause PTSD? | Why Mental Disorder Definitions Matter

This video answers the question: Can someone develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from a romantic breakup? When we look at posttraumatic stress disorder, we see that in the qualifying trauma section there are four types of traumatic experiences listed: directly experiencing a traumatic event, witnessing a traumatic event in person occurring to others, learning about a traumatic event that occurs to a family member or close friend, or repeated exposure to aversive details of a traumatic event. The four other categories of symptom criteria for PTSD include: intrusion (e.g. intrusive memories or flashbacks), avoidance (e.g. avoids thoughts or reminders of the trauma), negative mood (e.g. anger and guilt), and arousal (e.g. hypervigilance and difficulty sleeping). These symptoms have to be present for more than a month and they have to cause clinically significant distress.