How can someone tell the difference between being a little “stressed out” and having something more serious that might need treatment or evaluation?
The good news is that the majority of people exposed to a trauma do just fine with time. Many may experience transient symptoms of the syndrome currently known as posttraumatic stress disorder (see below), but over time these symptoms go away or become much less bothersome. Some, perhaps a third of those with proximity to the trauma, such as those who witnessed it firsthand, who had the experience that they were going to die, or who lost a loved one, will go on to develop posttraumatic stress disorder.
