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Causes of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Rona Ackerman, Social worker and psychotherapist, specializes in the treatment of PTSD, loss and bereavement
15 June 2025

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a prolonged emotional response to a traumatic or dangerous event. While it's normal to experience stress after trauma, PTSD occurs when symptoms persist longer than usual. It can affect anyone, regardless of age or background.
People with PTSD may experience feelings of isolation, fear of the unknown, pain, and hopelessness. It's crucial for those experiencing these symptoms to seek help early, as this increases the chances of recovery.
Understanding the causes of PTSD is an important step in managing the condition.
PTSD is more likely to occur in people who have previously experienced trauma or have existing mental health issues. Social factors, such as lack of support or negative reactions from others, may also contribute. However, everyone's response to trauma is unique, making it important to monitor changes in those who have experienced stressful events and refer them to therapists when necessary.
While most people naturally recover from difficult life events, it's important to remember that even those with PTSD can heal with appropriate professional help. Treatment can aid in understanding the traumatic event, managing symptoms, and returning to normal functioning.

PTSD is a complex mental response that may develop following exposure to difficult or threatening events that involve an existential risk (physical or mental). It affects people of any age and background and may significantly alter the quality of life of those suffering from it.

Unfortunately, we do not control whether or when we encounter traumatic events in our lives and how they will affect us. What affects this?
Our body has mechanisms that are responsible for our reactions. People are essentially different. The same events may result in different responses in each person. This is also the reason for the inability to predict who will develop PTSD.
If you were exposed to a traumatic event or if someone close to you was exposed to such an event, it is very important to remain alert to any signs of distress and not leave them alone. And if you or someone close to you nevertheless develops symptoms that indicate post-traumatic stress disorder, you should remember that this is not a sign of weakness. PTSD is a human and natural response to extreme experiences, and it can happen to any one of us. The most important thing is to seek help as early as possible to increase the chances of healing and recovery.

Distress appears when the mind is traumatized

To understand the factors that can influence the development of PTSD, one must first understand what trauma is and how the response to it can become a chronic condition that affects all areas of life.

The meaning of the word "trauma" is "damage" in the Greek language, and it refers to an event that damages the soul.
Different types of traumatic situations can trigger a real sense of threat, distress and helplessness.

  • Trauma after a single event:
    • An event caused by another person (terrorist attack, sexual assault, witness to murder, etc.)
    • An event defined as a natural disaster (tsunami, flood, fire, storm).
  • Complex trauma: trauma following abuse of power, control, or terror that lasts over a prolonged period of time (hostage, Holocaust, recurring sexual abuse).
  • Chronic trauma: result of an ongoing traumatic social reality (sexism, racism, homophobia, etc.).
  • Secondary trauma is a situation in which a person develops symptoms of PTSD following exposure to the details of a traumatic event experienced by another person.
  • Indirect trauma: a phrase that refers to the affect caused to caregivers as a result of exposure to the traumatic content of patients they encounter. This refers to the deep changes that occur among the caregivers and pertains to their self-perception and their perception of the world.
  • Collective trauma is defined as a traumatic event that affects not only those directly impacted by it but the entire community and society (such as war).

On normal days, when we feel safe, we are able to successfully regulate ourselves and organize our experiences while relying on the laws of logic and morality.

In times of danger, when fear and helplessness overwhelm us, our minds are flooded with stimuli that they are unable to process, and thus the event remains in its raw form without the ability to absorb and understand what happened. As such, even after the event is over, the person continues to feel the sensory and emotional experience he felt at the moment of danger, as if it is happening again and again.

Risk factors

When a person experiences a traumatic event, the chances of developing post-traumatic stress disorder depend on a variety of risk factors, from personal factors to socio-environmental factors. An understanding of all factors affecting this chance is key to early and effective identification and treatment of the condition.

These are the main factors that may increase the risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder:

Personal

  • Previous traumas.
  • History of anxiety and mood disorders.
  • Limited ability to maintain social relationships, avoidance of relationships or difficulty in trusting other people.
  • Lack of ability and motivation to seek help.
  • Shame and guilt or self-blame, for example: the phenomenon of "survivors' guilt"—when" survivors of a traumatic event feel guilty for being saved.
  • Timing of the request for help. The earlier the referral is made, the greater the chances of preventing the development of the disorder.
  • Use of substances such as alcohol, cannabis, opioids, tranquilizers, sleep medication, etc.

Social / environmental

  • Sex: women are at greater risk of developing PTSD.
  • Lack of social support.
  • Other distressful events occurred alongside the traumatic event.
  • Environment’s attitude towards the event.
  • The degree of recognition of distress, such as difficulty in sharing sexual assault by men vs. women.

Early request for effective treatment

Trauma is an event on an unusual scale, different in essence and intensity from other stressful situations that a person encounters in his life. The nature, duration and intensity of reactions vary from person to person and, in some cases, may even deteriorate and develop into PTSD. Most people will spontaneously recover from difficult events and integrate them into the continuum of life experiences. The process occasionally takes time, and there are cases in which direction and assistance are required.

The point in time at which professional help is sought after a traumatic event is critically important and impacts the way the therapy is adapted. When the referral is made close to the traumatic event, therapy should be focused and based on a clear professional protocol. Either way, the professional experience gained by therapists in Israel in particular and in the world in general has resulted in the consolidation of extensive professional knowledge as well as in different and diverse therapeutic approaches that can help process information, prevent a deterioration of symptoms and restore function.

Rona Ackerman is the Deputy Director of ELAH Center for Coping with Loss, Grief, Trauma and Mental Pain