The Foreign Service Journal, January 2008

28 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 8 he medical profession classifies Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as one of 11 anxiety disor- ders. But PTSD is different from most mental health diagnoses because it is tied to a particular life event for which the witnessing or experiencing has a potential for death or serious injury and provokes intense fear, helplessness or horror. During such events, you may think that your life or others’ lives are in danger and that you have no control over what is happening. F O C U S O N P T SD & T H E F O R E I G N S E R V I C E U NDERSTANDING WHAT IS HAPPENING WHEN YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW REACTS TO A TRAUMATIC EVENT WILL HELP YOU BE LESS FEARFUL AND BETTER ABLE TO COPE . B Y R AYMOND M. D E C ASTRO , M.D. T P OST -T RAUMATIC S TRESS D ISORDER : A G UIDE Ian Dodds