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PTSD in adolescents may begin to more closely resemble PTSD in adults.... Adolescents are more likely to engage in traumatic reenactment, in which they incorporate aspects of the trauma into their daily lives. In addition, adolescents are more likely than younger children or adults to exhibit impulsive and aggressive behaviors."

Who's at risk for developing PTSD?

Those at risk include: Anyone who has been victimized or has witnessed a violent act or who has been repeatedly exposed to a life-threatening situation.

"It is important to remember that what causes PTSD in one person may have no apparent effect on another. The effect seems to be proportionate to the mental innocence of the victim. A young child can not even begin to understand ‘what is happening’ to them when they are raped. They only feel the pain and are afraid the pain will happen again. As they mature they often develop PTSD symptoms but don’t even think about associating the symptoms back to the painful experience. By the same token an adult woman who is raped is less likely to have severe PTSD because she understands what is happening and recognizes that the attacker is to blame. The point is what you or I might be able to handle emotionally and psychologically, may be beyond the ability of someone else’s comprehension." --Teddi Neevel

Survivors of:

• Children who are neglected or sexually, physically or verbally abused or adults who were abused as children.
• Domestic or intimate partner violence, rape or sexual assault.
• Physical assault such as mugging or carjacking and other random acts that take place in public, in schools or the workplace.
• Those surviving unexpected events in everyday life: car accidents, fires, natural disasters such as tornadoes or earthquakes, major catastrophic events such as a plane crash or terrorist act.
• Disasters caused by human error such as industrial  and medical accidents.
• Combat veterans or civilian victims of war
• Those diagnosed with a life-threatening illness or who have undergone invasive medical procedures
• Professionals who respond to victims in trauma situations such as emergency medical service workers, police, firefighters, military, and search and rescue workers.
• People who learn of the sudden, unexpected death of a close friend or relative

With PTSD there can be self-destructive behavior and physical complaints such as:

Alcohol, drug abuse, suicidal impulses, any high risk behavior (show-off, dare devil) that may be life threatening. Physical complaints, any or all of which may be accompanied by depression include: chronic pain with no medical cause (frequently gynecological problems in women), stress related conditions such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Fibromyalgia, stomach pain or other digestive disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome or alternating bouts of diarrhea and constipation, eating disorders, breathing problems or asthma, headaches, muscle cramps or low back pain, sleep disorders, cardiovascular problems.

Many people experience an elevated level of health after past traumas are dealt with, as I did.  Checking this with several Christian physicians confirmed this happens and why:  When inner stress is gone the immune system can function better.

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