PTSD is best described as which of the following?

• A. PTSD is a mood disorder characterized by elevated mood and decreased need for sleep.
• B. PTSD is a psychotic disorder with delusions and hallucinations.
• C. PTSD is a somatic syndrome with chronic pain.
• D. PTSD is an anxiety disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, and/or insomnia that lingers for four weeks or more after a traumatic experience.

Answer: (D)

PTSD is an anxiety disorder triggered by exposure to a traumatic event, and it involves intrusive memories or nightmares, avoidance or social withdrawal, and heightened arousal such as being jumpy or having sleep problems. The description that matches this pattern and includes a four-week-or-more duration after the trauma is the one that lists haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, and insomnia lasting at least four weeks. This duration criterion helps distinguish PTSD from shorter, transient stress reactions. The other options describe mood, psychotic, or somatic syndromes and don’t capture the trauma-related onset and the core symptom clusters of PTSD.