Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder PTSD is characterized by persistent, frightening thoughts and memories that follow a terrifying event. Any traumatic incident can trigger PTSD and therefore it can affect anyone, although recent research indicates women are more prone to developing PTSD than are men. The NIMH estimates that approximately 4 percent of the American population will experience symptoms of PTSD sometime during their lives. Symptoms typically begin within 3 months of the traumatic incident, although they can begin years later. The NIMH estimates that 4 to 5 percent of Americans have a significant phobia.
Phobias are intense, irrational fears that lead to the avoidance of the thing or situation feared.
Some childhood specific phobias may disappear before adulthood. A social phobia is an intense fear of becoming humiliated in social situations. Social phobias usually appear between the 15th and 20th years although they may begin in childhood. According to the NIMH 3 to 6 million Americans, approximately two-thirds of them women, suffer panic disorders. Panic can appear at any age although it usually begins in young adulthood.