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Dr. Chrysoula I. Liakou MD, PhD
- Treated online: Partly. A doctor can assess PTSD, treat sleep problems, low mood and anxiety, and refer you for trauma-focused therapy, which is with a trained therapist.
- What it is: a mental health condition caused by very stressful, frightening or distressing events, with flashbacks, nightmares, avoidance and feeling constantly on edge.
- How common: about 3.9% of people worldwide have PTSD at some point. Around 70% of people go through a potentially traumatic event, and 5.6% of them develop PTSD.
- Recovery: up to 40% of people recover within a year, and trauma-focused CBT and EMDR help most people, even years later.
- Emergency: call 112 or go to an emergency department if you might act on thoughts of ending your life, have harmed yourself, or are in danger now.
Do not book a video appointment if you are thinking about ending your life and might act on it, have harmed yourself, or are in danger now, for example from someone at home. Call 112 or go to an emergency department.
Can an online doctor treat PTSD?
Partly. A doctor by video can assess PTSD symptoms, check that you are safe, treat sleep problems, low mood and anxiety, prescribe an antidepressant when you prefer medicine, and refer you for trauma-focused therapy, the treatment with the most evidence. The therapy itself, trauma-focused CBT or EMDR, is given by a trained therapist, and complex PTSD often needs specialist services.
How an online consultation helps with PTSD
- At your pace: You do not have to describe the trauma in detail: the doctor asks about how it affects you now.
- The therapy that works: A referral for trauma-focused CBT or EMDR, and what to expect from it.
- Sleep and mood treated: Nightmares, broken sleep, low mood and anxiety treated while you wait for therapy.
- Medicine when it helps: An antidepressant such as sertraline when you prefer medicine, with reviews. Benzodiazepines are never prescribed online.
What the doctor checks in an online PTSD consultation
The doctor asks about safety first, then about the symptoms and how they affect your life. The doctor asks about:
- Safety: thoughts of suicide or self-harm, and whether you are still in danger, for example from domestic abuse.
- The symptoms: flashbacks, intrusive images, nightmares, avoiding reminders, and feeling on edge or easily startled.
- When it started: straight after the event, or months or years later, and how long it has lasted.
- Sleep, mood and anxiety: how you sleep, low mood, panic attacks, and feeling disconnected from yourself.
- Alcohol and drugs: including whether you use them to cope with the memories.
- Your health and support: physical injuries, pain, pregnancy, your medicines, and who you can talk to.
Before the call, find a private space. You decide how much you say about what happened; what matters most is how it affects you now.
What are the symptoms of PTSD?
The main symptom is distressing thoughts about the event that keep coming back, as flashbacks, intrusive images or nightmares. PTSD causes significant distress and gets in the way of daily life. The symptoms fall into these groups:
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| Group | What happens | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Re-living | The event keeps coming back | Flashbacks, intrusive images or thoughts, recurring nightmares |
| Avoidance | Keeping away from reminders | Avoiding people, places or conversations linked to the event |
| Feeling on edge | The body stays on alert | Looking for danger all the time, being easily startled, poor sleep, irritability |
| Mood and thinking | Changes in how you feel | Mood changes, memory gaps about the event, finding it hard to feel emotions |
| Feeling disconnected | Dissociation | Feeling detached from yourself and the world around you |
| Physical symptoms | Stress felt in the body | Unexplained pain or headaches |
When do PTSD symptoms start?
Symptoms usually start straight after the event or within a month, but they can also appear many months or even years later. Feeling shaken, tearful or jumpy in the first days or weeks after a frightening event is a common reaction and often settles.
What does PTSD feel like?
People describe feeling as if the event is happening again, being constantly braced for danger, and being cut off from others or from their own feelings. Some feel ashamed or guilty, and many cope by avoiding anything that reminds them of the event.
What is complex PTSD?
Complex PTSD (CPTSD) has the same core symptoms as PTSD but different causes: usually long-term or repeated trauma that was hard to escape, such as child abuse or neglect, ongoing domestic abuse, or repeatedly witnessing violence. People with complex PTSD often also have:
- Difficulty controlling emotions: strong reactions to things others see as minor, or finding it hard to feel positive emotions.
- Low self-worth: feeling worthless or damaged, with intense shame or guilt about the trauma.
- Relationship difficulties: avoiding people, struggling to trust, or intense relationships that are hard to keep.
Trauma at a young age, trauma that went on for a long time, and harm from someone close or trusted make complex PTSD more likely. It can lead to suicidal feelings, or to drink or drugs as a way of coping, which is why the doctor asks about both.
What causes PTSD, and who gets it?
PTSD is caused by very stressful, frightening or distressing events, whether they happened to you, you saw them happen, or you heard about them happening to someone close to you. Examples are:
- a serious or life-threatening accident
- physical or sexual assault, and abuse, including childhood or domestic abuse
- serious health problems, such as being in intensive care
- a difficult birth, or the death of a baby
- war, or work as a police officer, paramedic or healthcare worker
About 3.9% of people worldwide have PTSD at some point in their lives, and 15.3% of people exposed to war or violent conflict. Around 70% of people go through a potentially traumatic event, but only a minority, 5.6%, develop PTSD. Previous trauma, repeated or ongoing trauma, serious injury, being a woman, younger age and mental health conditions in the family make it more likely; support from others after the event lowers the risk.
PTSD or something else?
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| Condition | How it can look similar | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| A normal stress reaction | Shock, poor sleep and upsetting memories after an event | Settles over the first weeks |
| Depression | Low mood, poor sleep, withdrawing | No re-living of an event; often comes with PTSD |
| Panic attacks and anxiety | Racing heart, fear, avoidance | The fear is not tied to memories of one event |
| Grief | Intrusive memories after a death | Longing and sadness, rather than fear and threat |
| Depersonalisation | Feeling detached or unreal | Can happen without trauma, and also comes with PTSD |
How is PTSD treated, and does it go away?
PTSD gets better for most people, but it can be more severe and last longer for some. Talking therapies focused on the trauma come first: trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) have the most evidence. Up to 40% of people recover within a year, and treatment can work even years after the event.
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| Treatment | How it works | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Trauma-focused CBT | Helps you face the memories safely and change the beliefs that keep you stuck | Sessions with a trained therapist |
| EMDR | Eye movements are used to help process the traumatic memories | Sessions with a trained therapist |
| Antidepressants | Sertraline, paroxetine or venlafaxine ease anxiety, low mood and sleep problems | Reviews are booked; do not stop without a doctor’s advice |
| Self-care and stress management | Routines, exercise, sleep, breathing and muscle relaxation | Helps alongside treatment |
Anti-anxiety medicines such as benzodiazepines can be misused and are only used for a short time, if at all; they are never prescribed online. Prazosin, a blood pressure medicine, has been tried for nightmares, with mixed results.
Which PTSD treatment might the doctor recommend?
Treatment depends on how long you have had symptoms, how severe they are, and what you prefer. This is the framework the doctors use:
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| What you have | Likely first step | Suitable for online care? | When in-person care is needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upsetting memories and poor sleep in the first weeks after an event | Support, sleep advice and a review | Yes | If symptoms last beyond a month or get worse |
| PTSD symptoms lasting more than a month | Referral for trauma-focused CBT or EMDR | Yes | For the therapy itself |
| PTSD with low mood, anxiety or broken sleep | Treatment of these, and an antidepressant when you prefer medicine | Yes | If symptoms are severe |
| Complex PTSD after long-term trauma | Assessment and referral to specialist trauma services | Partly | For specialist therapy |
| Drinking or using drugs to cope | An honest plan, and referral for support | Partly | Heavy use needs supervised care |
| Still in danger, such as from domestic abuse | Safety first: emergency help and specialist support | No | Call 112 if you are in danger now |
| Thoughts of ending your life that you might act on | Emergency help | No | Call 112 now |
Flashbacks or nightmares that will not stop? A doctor can tell you in one consultation which treatment fits.
See available times →Treatment options for PTSD
What you can do yourself
- Talk to someone you trust about how you are feeling.
- Keep a diary to spot what triggers your symptoms.
- Try breathing exercises and muscle relaxation when you feel on edge.
- Keep your normal routines, stay active, eat a balanced diet and protect your sleep.
- Avoid recreational drugs and smoking, and do not drink too much alcohol.
- Cut down on caffeine and nicotine, which can make anxiety worse.
Prescription treatment
A prescription is never issued without a consultation. If you prefer medicine, or while you wait for therapy, the doctor may prescribe an antidepressant such as sertraline after a full assessment, with reviews booked. Some PTSD medicines are not safe in pregnancy, so tell the doctor if you are pregnant or planning to be. Benzodiazepines and Z-drugs are controlled medicines and are never prescribed online. If the doctor prescribes, use the prescription at a pharmacy near you.
What does not help
Alcohol or drugs to numb the feelings, which get in the way of recovery. Stopping an antidepressant suddenly. Waiting for years in the hope it will fade: treatment works even long after the event.
Special situations
After a difficult birth
A frightening birth, or losing a baby, can cause PTSD. The mental health in pregnancy pages cover the time around birth.
Work-related trauma
Police officers, paramedics, healthcare workers and others who see trauma at work are at higher risk. Ask your occupational health service about support, and see a doctor if symptoms last.
Trauma while travelling in Europe
An accident, an assault or a serious illness abroad can cause PTSD, sometimes only after you get home. In danger, call 112 wherever you are, and see a doctor when you are ready.
Children
Mobi Doctor consultations are for adults aged 18 and over. A child who is unwell needs a paediatrician or a local doctor in person, and emergency signs in a child mean 112.
When PTSD is treated online, and when you need in-person care
Treated online: assessment of PTSD and complex PTSD symptoms, sleep problems, low mood and anxiety, antidepressant treatment with reviews, and referral for trauma-focused therapy.
In-person care: trauma-focused CBT and EMDR with a trained therapist, specialist services for complex PTSD, supervised help with heavy drinking or drug use, and any emergency.
When to get in-person care
Call 112 or go to an emergency department now for:
- thoughts of ending your life that you might act on
- having harmed yourself, or taken an overdose
- being in danger now, from another person or where you are
- a serious injury, or feeling very unwell after the event
Get medical advice the same day for:
- thoughts of death or self-harm without a plan to act on them
- flashbacks or panic so severe that you cannot look after yourself
- drinking or using drugs heavily to cope
- not sleeping at all for several nights
You can also find a free, confidential crisis helpline in your country at findahelpline.com.
How Mobi Doctor works
- Book a time that suits you: daily 7am–11pm CEST. You can see a doctor over video, usually within 15 minutes. No subscription, and the exact price is shown before you pay.
- Speak to a licensed doctor about how you are: describe the flashbacks, nightmares and sleep, as much as you want to share, and list your medicines.
- Leave with a plan: what to do, what to take and for how long, and which signs mean you should be seen in person. If the doctor prescribes, use the prescription at a pharmacy near you.
No sign-up needed
Not sure it’s PTSD? Tick every symptom you have to see each condition page that mentions it. It finds the right page, not a diagnosis: a doctor gives you that on a video call.
Tap the body — an area or a point — to browse symptoms anywhere
Similar symptoms, different condition? Anxiety can start the same way. Compare them, or look up any other symptom in the full symptom checker.
Frequently asked questions about PTSD
What is PTSD?
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a mental health condition caused by very stressful, frightening or distressing events. It causes flashbacks, nightmares, avoidance of reminders and feeling constantly on edge, and it can be treated.
What are 5 signs of PTSD?
The main signs of PTSD are flashbacks or intrusive memories, nightmares, avoiding people or places that remind you of the event, feeling on edge and looking for danger all the time, and sleep problems. Mood changes and feeling disconnected are common too.
How does PTSD feel?
As if the event is happening again, with your body braced for danger, and often cut off from other people or from your own feelings. Some people feel ashamed or guilty, although PTSD is a reaction to what happened, not a weakness.
Does PTSD ever go away?
Yes, PTSD goes away for most people. Up to 40% recover within a year, and trauma-focused CBT and EMDR help most people, even years after the event. Symptoms can last longer without treatment.
What is complex PTSD?
Complex PTSD has the core symptoms of PTSD, usually after long-term or repeated trauma such as child abuse or domestic abuse, plus difficulty controlling emotions, feeling worthless or ashamed, and difficulties with relationships.
What causes PTSD?
Very stressful, frightening or distressing events, such as a serious accident, assault, abuse, war, a difficult birth, or a stay in intensive care. Most people who go through trauma do not develop PTSD.
Can PTSD start years after the event?
Yes. PTSD symptoms usually start straight after the event or within a month, but they can appear many months or even years later, sometimes set off by a reminder, another stressful event, a loss or retirement, when the mind has less to keep it busy. Delayed PTSD is treated in the same way, and trauma-focused therapy still helps.
How is PTSD diagnosed?
A doctor or mental health professional asks about the event and your symptoms, how long they have lasted and how they affect your life. Symptoms that last more than a month and cause real distress point to PTSD.
Is it PTSD or something else?
PTSD is diagnosed when flashbacks, nightmares, avoidance and feeling on edge follow a traumatic event and last more than a month. Symptoms in the first month are called an acute stress reaction and usually settle. Depression and anxiety share the low mood and poor sleep but not the re-living of an event; panic disorder has attacks without a trauma behind them; and grief after a death is normal, though it can turn into PTSD when the death was sudden or violent.
What is the best treatment for PTSD?
Trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy and EMDR have the most evidence. Antidepressants such as sertraline can help, especially when you prefer medicine. Benzodiazepines are not a treatment for PTSD and are never prescribed online.
What can I do myself to cope with PTSD?
Keep a daily routine with regular sleep, meals and exercise, because PTSD thrives on chaos and exhaustion; learn grounding for flashbacks, naming what you can see, hear and touch to bring yourself back to the present; avoid using alcohol or drugs to numb the memories, which makes PTSD last longer; stay connected with people you trust; and do not force yourself to avoid every reminder, since avoidance keeps the fear alive. These support therapy, which is what treats the trauma itself.
Can PTSD be prevented after a traumatic event?
Not with certainty, but some things lower the risk: support from family, friends or colleagues in the first weeks, getting back to routines, sleeping and eating, and talking when you want to rather than being made to relive it, since single-session debriefing does not prevent PTSD and is not recommended. Watchful waiting is usual for the first month, because most people recover naturally; if symptoms are still strong after about 4 weeks, trauma-focused therapy at that stage helps prevent long-term PTSD.
How can I help someone with PTSD?
If someone has PTSD, let them talk when they want to and do not push for details of the event; keep normal routines and plans going, because structure helps; be patient with irritability, jumpiness and withdrawal; learn the signs of a flashback and how to ground them, naming where they are and what they can see; and encourage them to see a doctor about trauma-focused therapy, which works even years later. If they might act on thoughts of suicide, call 112.
Can an online doctor treat PTSD?
Partly. A doctor by video can assess PTSD, treat sleep problems, low mood and anxiety, prescribe an antidepressant when it is right, and refer you for trauma-focused therapy, which is with a trained therapist.
- PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed 8 April 2026.
- PTSD: treatment, NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed 8 April 2026.
- Post-traumatic stress disorder: fact sheet, WHO, World Health Organization, 11 September 2026.
- Complex PTSD, Mind (UK), published February 2026.
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): diagnosis and treatment, Mayo Clinic (US), updated 16 August 2024.
This page is for information only and is not a substitute for a medical consultation. Guideline links are provided for transparency; treatment decisions are made with your doctor.
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