“The threat of death, serious injury, violence, or sexual assault are all considered traumatic events. Not everyone experiences and perceives an event the same way, so there is no concrete list of events that can cause traumatic responses. It depends on the individual. Witnessing these events can be traumatic too, as can having a close friend or relative who has endured a traumatic event.

Sometimes, victims don’t remember that they were exposed to a trauma. Traumatic memories are not processed and stored like regular memories. I didn’t realize I had been a victim of sexual abuse as a child until I was an adult. In hindsight, I had a lot of PTSD symptoms even before I knew what had happened to me.”