# Do you have PTSD from something that happened a long time ago? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 9, 2024, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-ptsd-from-something-that-happened-a-long-time-ago/1005451 "2024-08-09T02:13:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 10
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-ptsd-from-something-that-happened-a-long-time-ago/1005451/10 "2024-08-09T10:33:18Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > I think a fear of heights is a sign of intelligence A healthy fear of heights that motivates you to take appropriate protective measures is a good thing. OTOH, a crippling fear of heights that leaves you frozen in terror and unable to function in situations that are objectively safe is maladaptive. As for the OP’s question…my answer is yes: > [@Have you personally experienced trauma?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-personally-experienced-trauma/990175/66): > > I was in a car crash about ten years ago. I had no physical injuries at all, but there were several mentally traumatizing aspects: I lost control in the rain at highway speed. The car started to spin, and I couldn’t stop it; I knew what to do, and had actually done it before many times, but my brain just froze up this time. The sliding lasted for several seconds, and there was a point at which I was sliding backwards at high speed toward a guard rail and couldn’t tell when the collision wa… My crash happened on a highway on-ramp not far from my home. I struggled with PTSD for a couple of years after that, and while I’m mostly fine now, I do still get uncomfortable when I go down that particular on-ramp - especially in the rain. It makes me go slower there than other folks would, and I don’t have that same unease on other highway on-ramps. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-ptsd-from-something-that-happened-a-long-time-ago/1005451)._