Obsessive-compulsive disorders often begin during the teens or early adulthood. Generally they are chronic and cause moderate to severe disability in their victims. Often associated with war veterans, post-traumatic stress disorder can occur in anyone who has experienced a severe and unusual physical or mental trauma. The severity of the disorder increases if the trauma was unanticipated. For that reason, not all war veterans develop PTSD, despite prolonged and brutal combat.
Soldiers expect a certain amount of violence.
Rape victims, however, are unsuspecting of the attack on their lives. In rare cases, the person falls into a temporary dislocation from reality in which he or she relives the trauma. This can last for seconds or days. Victims have decreased interest in or involvement with people or activities they once enjoyed. Excessive alertness and highly sharpened startle reaction.