What is Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)?

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is when your brain keeps remembering a really scary event, like it's still happening.

Imagine you're playing with your favorite toy, and suddenly something loud and unexpected happens, maybe a big crash or a scream. Your brain thinks you're in danger, so it goes into fight-or-flight mode. This helps you stay safe when you’re actually in trouble. But if the scary event happens again and again, or is really intense, your brain might not know when to stop being on alert.

PTSD can feel like having a "scary memory" that won’t go away, it keeps popping up even when everything is calm again. It's like remembering being startled by a loud noise at school, and then hearing every bell or knock as if it’s the same scary sound all over again.

Sometimes people with PTSD might feel sad, angry, or have trouble sleeping because their brain is still trying to protect them from something that no longer feels real.

But just like how you get used to your favorite toy after a while, people can learn to feel safer and calmer over time, even if the scary memory is still there.