# Isn't some level of PTSD normal just by living? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 15, 2014, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-some-level-of-ptsd-normal-just-by-living/695590 "2014-08-15T08:20:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-some-level-of-ptsd-normal-just-by-living/695590/21 "2014-08-16T16:22:24Z")
I don’t think any mental illness is a binary thing, it’s more of an analog thing. Binary = 1 or 0. Something is On or Off. You either have it or you don’t. Analog = 1,2,3…9,10. There are increasing levels of something. You have more or less than the “norm”. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-some-level-of-ptsd-normal-just-by-living/695590/22 "2014-08-16T17:40:52Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > I don’t think any mental illness is a binary thing, it’s more of an analog thing. Yep. Here’s the way I like to think about it: [ul] [li]Everybody has some obsessive or compulsive behaviors. That doesn’t mean they have OCD.[/li][li]Everybody has trouble staying focused sometimes. That doesn’t mean they have ADD.[/li][li]Everybody feels sad and crappy sometimes. That doesn’t mean they have clinical depression.[/li][li]Everybody acts selfishly occasionally. That doesn’t mean they’re a sociopath.[/li][li]Everybody fails at responding to social cues from time to time. That doesn’t mean they are autistic or have Asperger’s.[/li][li]Everybody responds with some amount of anxiety to trauma. That doesn’t mean they have PTSD.[/li][li]Etc.[/li][/ul] The test to be concerned about is fairly simple. Are the traits concerned interfering with your ability to lead a normal life? Do they prevent you from holding a job, completing your studies, caring for yourself, dealing with society, or forming a healthy relationship? Then you might need a trip to the head shrinker. Otherwise, you’re just suffering from a disease called Being Human Disorder. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2014, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-some-level-of-ptsd-normal-just-by-living/695590/23 "2014-08-17T04:21:54Z")
> [@ddsun](#): > > OP - you specifically mention rape as something that might PTSD, but you do so in a way that causes me to think that you may not be aware that it actually does cause clinical PTSD. > > I’m wondering if you are, or were, thinking it’s just associated with military service? > > In fact, as others have stated, it could be the result of any number of traumatic events. > > A minor dog bite might be a teaching moment. A severe dog attack that almost kills you might result in PTSD. And different people handle things differently, so the same event won’t produce the same results in everyone. Although as the event gets more traumatic, PTSD gets more likely. Active duty combat, war zones, rape survivors, natural disasters are going to start kicking out higher percentages of PTSD. At that point, trauma isn’t really the learning experience you describe in the OP, so much as it becomes (at least once you’ve lived through it) “oh fuck, I lived through that”. And, well, PTSD actually can really interfere with life. But I won’t dwell on that so much. > > Yes, we all experience trauma. It’s a scale though. We experience different amounts and types, and we process it differently. I would not say PTSD is something everyone experiences, which is a good thing. I was thinking of some real life occurrences where someone was raped, changed their behavior in a way that seemed rational and normal or healthy to me, but other people said oh yea she doesn’t drink or go out to clubs anymore she has PTSD from being raped. It seemed to me ANYONE would respond to that trauma by changing their behaviour, it would seem almost impossible not to. I think in retrospect laymen are misusing the term PTSD to mean any alteration in behaviour or thinking following trauma. I guess my thread was asking what is the line between normal response to trauma, and PTSD. I realize now that simply reacting to trauma is NOT PTSD. EDIT:I’m aware rape can cause clinical PTSD, but have heard it applied by laymen to situations where I don’t think it qualifies. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-some-level-of-ptsd-normal-just-by-living/695590.md?page=1)