PTSD interrupts lives long after trauma

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. — Throughout much of her young adult life, Terry Hatcher was living in a disassociated state, disconnected from the world — zoned out. She tried to commit suicide at age 21.

It wasn't until she was 30 that the Oakland, Calif., resident learned she was suffering from an acute form of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. As a child, she was abused for years by her bipolar mother — hit with belts and other objects for any minor offense — and the effects stayed with her.

"(The diagnosis) hit me like a ton of bricks," says Hatcher, who is a psychologist. "People with PTSD can't see a future. I thought either I will find someone to talk to about this, or I am going to die."

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a reference used by the American Psychiatric Association that includes all currently recognized mental health disorders, 8 percent of the American population suffers from some form of PTSD, though experts in the field say up to 15 percent of Americans do. Although soldiers returning from war are more commonly known sufferers of PTSD, once called "shell shock" and "battle fatigue," PTSD can affect anyone who has suffered a traumatic event.

This includes witnesses of trauma, like the concertgoers who saw the suicide at the Swell Season performance last month at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga, as well as those whose lives were directly threatened by crime or accidents, like the residents of San Bruno, Calif., who were rocked by a massive PG&E gas explosion this month. Even experiencing a minor car accident can pull some people into the downward spiral of PTSD.

"Basically, PTSD can occur in many, many people when exposed to severe stress," says Dr. George Hamilton, a psychiatrist for Contra Costa Mental Health Services in Martinez, Calif. "It doesn't have to be war. It can be any kind of other event, like a natural disaster, where suddenly your world is turned upside down and certainly your life is at risk."

Nearly one-third of all victims of sexual assault develop PTSD sometime during their lifetimes, according to a National Women's Study released a decade ago, and many children suffer PTSD after being victims of sexual or physical abuse or neglect.

Unlike many mental disorders, PTSD has a specific diagnosis, and symptoms are relatively common across the board. Casey Taft, a psychologist at the National Center for PTSD at the VA Boston Healthcare System, calls the diagnosis of PTSD a "Chinese menu" of sorts.