[COPING WITH THE UNSEEN WOUNDS TO EVALUATE THE HANDICAPS CAUSED BY PTSD]

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has been clinically known for over 3500 years, but due to political and financial reasons it was referred to by many names, to put the blame for its existence on the weakness of the victim instead of the abnormal hazards of war. Since it entered the DSM-3 as a specific illness entity (1980), the research and treatment methods grew tremendously, yet the way to diagnosis, understanding how the illness affects the victim, his family members and surrounding were left behind. Diagnosis of PTSD is largely based on the subjective reports of the victim. Talking about the trauma goes often in contradiction with the disorders' related feelings of avoidance, shame and guilt. On the other hand, the patient needs the recognition of his illness so that he can be compensated. These aspects lead to under- and over-diagnosis in many cases. Adding to the oddities of the illness in its diagnosis are the chronicity but wavy tendencies of the clinical picture (such as getting worse near the date of the trauma or when the terror rises) and the option of late onset PTSD etc.. One can understand the gaps between the suffering of the victims and the recognition of their handicap level.