PTSD and Memory Loss: When Your Mind Will Not Stay on the Task

PTSD and Trauma Services at Kelly-Johnston Counseling

Can PTSD cause memory loss and difficulty concentrating? Learn how trauma affects attention, short-term memory, brain fog, and everyday functioning.

Series: 15 Hidden Symptoms of PTSD — Article #4

This is the fourth article in my series, 15 Hidden Symptoms of PTSD. I hope you are enjoying this informative series about PTSD. Here is a reference for each individual article.

• Hidden PTSD Symptoms #1:Constant Irritability, published August 12, 2026
• Hidden PTSD Symptoms #2: Emotional Numbness, published August 18, 2026
• Hidden PTSD Symptoms #3: Chronic Physical Pain, published August 25, 2026
• Hidden PTSD Symptoms #4: Difficulty Concentrating, published September 1, 2026
• Hidden PTSD Symptoms #5: Always Expecting Something Bad to Happen
• Hidden PTSD Symptoms #6: Perfectionism
• Hidden PTSD Symptoms #7: Difficulty Trusting Others
• Hidden PTSD Symptoms #8: Overreacting to Small Triggers
• Hidden PTSD Symptoms #9: Feeling Constantly Exhausted
• Hidden PTSD Symptoms #10: Avoiding Places or Situations Without Fully Understanding Why
• Hidden PTSD Symptoms #11: Difficulty Relaxing
• Hidden PTSD Symptom #12: Feeling Detached From Yourself
• Hidden PTSD Symptom #13: Being Easily Startled
• Hidden PTSD Symptom #14: Feeling Emotionally Distant From Loved Ones
• Hidden PTSD Symptom #15: Feeling Like You’re “Broken”

PTSD Counseling at Kelly-Johnston Counseling

You read the same paragraph three times and still cannot remember what it said.

You enter a room and forget why you went there. During conversations, you realize that you stopped following what the other person was saying. At work, a task that once felt simple now takes twice as long because your mind keeps drifting, freezing, or going blank.

These experiences often lead people to search for information about PTSD and memory loss. What feels like a failing memory, however, may sometimes begin as a problem with attention. If the brain is focused on possible danger, an intrusive memory, or an overwhelming emotion, it may not fully take in the information you later try to remember.

You may start wondering why you cannot focus anymore or why conversations and appointments seem to disappear from memory. Perhaps you question whether the problem is stress, ADHD, depression, or something else. You may even fear that you are becoming less capable. Those fears can create shame, especially when concentration used to come naturally.

Difficulty concentrating and memory problems can have many causes. For some people, however, they develop or become worse after trauma and become less obvious signs of post-traumatic stress disorder.

This is Article #4 in our series, 15 Hidden Symptoms of PTSD. Article #1 explored constant anger and irritability, Article #2 examined emotional numbness, and Article #3 looked at PTSD and chronic pain.

Difficulty concentrating does not mean you are unintelligent, lazy, careless, or losing your mind. It may mean that your brain is using a great deal of energy to monitor danger, manage distress, avoid painful memories, or function without restorative sleep.

Is Difficulty Concentrating a Symptom of PTSD?

Yes. Difficulty concentrating is one of the symptoms included in the arousal and reactivity category of PTSD.

Clinicians do not look at concentration in isolation. They consider whether it occurs alongside other changes in arousal and reactivity, such as feeling tense or constantly on alert, being easily startled, becoming irritable, sleeping poorly, or engaging in reckless behavior. They also look for other parts of the PTSD pattern, including intrusive experiences, avoidance, and changes in thoughts or mood.

One concentration problem alone does not establish a PTSD diagnosis. PTSD involves a specific pattern of symptoms following exposure to trauma, and those symptoms must persist, cause distress or interfere with daily functioning, and not be better explained by substances, medication, or another condition.

A qualified mental health professional can evaluate the entire pattern rather than drawing a conclusion from one symptom.

What Can Trauma-Related Concentration Problems Feel Like?

People do not always describe the problem as “difficulty concentrating.” They may call it brain fog, forgetfulness, mental exhaustion, disorganization, or feeling scattered. The experience can also change throughout the day.

At work, you may open an email, notice a sound in the hallway, check another window, and then forget what you intended to write. A routine assignment may take much longer because you repeatedly lose your place. As unfinished tasks accumulate, you may feel overwhelmed and have even more difficulty deciding where to begin.

During conversations, you may hear the words without fully absorbing them. A loved one might later insist that they already told you about an appointment or family plan. You genuinely may not remember. This can lead to arguments in which the other person feels ignored and you feel accused of not caring.

At home, concentration problems can appear in small but frustrating ways. You might leave laundry in the washer, misplace your keys, forget why you entered a room, or begin several chores without completing any of them. Following a recipe, paying bills, or completing paperwork may suddenly feel like managing too many moving pieces at once.

Students may read the same material repeatedly without retaining it, mentally check out during class, or struggle to organize longer assignments. Parents may find it difficult to follow a child’s story while simultaneously monitoring noise, movement, and possible conflict in the room.

The problem may be especially noticeable in public. Instead of focusing on a menu or conversation, part of your attention may remain fixed on exits, strangers, sudden movements, or changes in someone’s voice. By the time you return home, your mind may feel exhausted even though nothing visibly demanding occurred.

These difficulties can affect work, school, parenting, finances, medical care, driving, and relationships. Other people may interpret them as indifference or a lack of effort, while the person experiencing them may be trying extremely hard to stay present.

Why Can PTSD Make It Hard to Concentrate?

The brain has a limited amount of attention available at any given moment.

When you feel safe, much of that attention can be used for reading, planning, learning, problem-solving, and conversation. After trauma, the nervous system may continue devoting attention to protection even when no immediate danger is present.

Several PTSD-related patterns can compete with everyday concentration.

Hypervigilance

Hypervigilance is a heightened state of alertness. The brain continuously looks for signs that something may be wrong.

Part of your attention may be tracking footsteps, facial expressions, changes in tone, nearby vehicles, doors, exits, or physical sensations. You may appear distracted when your brain is actually concentrating intensely—just not on the task in front of you.

This response may have been protective during trauma. In ordinary life, however, constant monitoring can leave fewer mental resources for other activities.

Intrusive Memories and Trauma Reminders

Unwanted memories, images, thoughts, or physical reactions can interrupt concentration without warning.

A smell, sound, date, location, news story, or tone of voice may activate a trauma reminder. Even when you do not consciously recognize the trigger, your body may respond with tension, fear, nausea, a racing heart, or an urge to escape.

Once the nervous system is activated, it can be difficult to return attention to an email, conversation, lesson, or household task.

Sleep Disruption

PTSD commonly interferes with sleep through nightmares, anxiety, hypervigilance, or fear of becoming vulnerable while asleep.

Poor sleep can affect attention, memory, reaction time, emotional regulation, and decision-making. A person may believe their memory is failing when their brain is trying to function without enough restorative rest.

This can become a cycle: PTSD disrupts sleep, poor sleep reduces concentration, mistakes create more stress, and increased stress makes sleep even harder.

Avoidance

Concentration may become difficult when a task is connected to painful thoughts or feelings.

Completing paperwork about an accident, returning to school after an assault, driving after a collision, or answering messages from family members may activate distress. Procrastination in these situations may not reflect laziness. It may be an attempt to avoid a trauma reminder.

Dissociation

Some trauma survivors experience periods of disconnection from their thoughts, emotions, body, or surroundings. They may suddenly go blank, lose track of time, feel unreal or dreamlike, or experience life as if they are watching it from a distance. They may complete familiar activities on autopilot and later remember very little about them.

This is different from ordinary distraction. During dissociation, the nervous system may be reducing awareness as a way of protecting the person from something overwhelming. Someone may look calm on the outside while internally feeling far away. Frequent memory gaps, lost time, or feelings of unreality should be discussed with a qualified mental health professional.

Anxiety, Depression, and Emotional Exhaustion

PTSD often occurs alongside anxiety or depression. Worry can occupy attention, while depression can slow thinking, reduce motivation, and make decisions feel overwhelming.

The effort required to manage distress all day can also create mental exhaustion. By the time a person sits down to work, study, or talk with family, little attention may remain.

Can PTSD Cause Memory Loss?

PTSD can be associated with memory difficulties, but the phrase “memory loss” can refer to several different experiences.

Some people have trouble remembering everyday information because they were unable to concentrate when it was presented. Others struggle to retrieve information when they are anxious, exhausted, triggered, or dissociated. PTSD can also involve difficulty recalling important aspects of the traumatic event. These experiences are related, but they are not necessarily caused by the same process.

It is therefore more accurate to say that PTSD can affect attention, learning, memory, and the ability to retrieve information than to assume it causes one uniform type of memory loss in everyone.

Imagine that someone tells you about an appointment while part of your attention is tracking an argument in the next room. You may nod and respond, but the details are never encoded clearly. When you cannot recall the appointment later, it feels like memory loss. The difficulty actually began several hours earlier, when your nervous system decided that monitoring possible conflict was more important than storing the conversation.

This distinction is reassuring for some people because forgetfulness does not automatically mean that the brain is permanently damaged. At the same time, new, severe, or worsening memory changes should not simply be blamed on PTSD. A healthcare professional may need to evaluate other possible causes.

PTSD Brain Fog and Memory Problems

Concentration and memory are closely connected.

Before information can be remembered, the brain must first notice and encode it. If your attention is divided between a conversation and the possibility of danger, the conversation may never be fully recorded in memory.

Later, it may feel as though you forgot the information. In reality, your brain may not have taken it in clearly enough to store it.

PTSD can also involve difficulty recalling parts of the traumatic event. That symptom is different from everyday forgetfulness, although both may occur in the same person.

Not every memory problem is caused by trauma. New, worsening, or significant changes in memory deserve professional assessment—especially when they interfere with safety or independent functioning.

PTSD and Short-Term Memory Loss

People commonly use “short-term memory loss” to describe forgetting recent conversations, instructions, names, appointments, or the reason they began a task. In everyday speech, that description makes sense. Clinically, however, several different abilities may be involved.

Attention allows you to notice information. Working memory allows you to hold and use a small amount of information for a short period, such as remembering the next step while completing a task. Learning and encoding help place new information into memory. Retrieval allows you to access it later.

PTSD symptoms can interfere at each stage. Hypervigilance divides attention. Intrusive memories interrupt working memory. Poor sleep makes learning less efficient. Anxiety can make retrieval harder, which is why a familiar answer may disappear during a stressful conversation and return later when you feel calm.

This may look like forgetting the beginning of a sentence before reaching the end, losing track of several instructions, or being unable to remember what someone just said. The frustration can be intense because the person often knows they were once able to manage the same information without difficulty.

These symptoms should still be evaluated in context. Short-term memory changes can also occur with ADHD, depression, sleep disorders, medication effects, substance use, concussion, and other medical or neurological conditions.

Trauma-Related Memory Gaps Versus Everyday Forgetfulness

Everyday forgetfulness usually involves ordinary information: where you left your phone, whether you replied to an email, or what you intended to purchase. These lapses often become more frequent during stress, exhaustion, or information overload.

Trauma-related memory gaps may involve parts of the traumatic experience or periods of dissociation. A person may remember certain sensory details vividly while having difficulty recalling the sequence of events. Another person may lose track of time when overwhelmed or feel as though they were present physically but not mentally.

Memory is not a perfect recording under any circumstances, and trauma does not make every recollection either completely accurate or completely inaccessible. Therapy should not pressure someone to produce memories or treat uncertain details as established facts. The goal is to address current distress and functioning safely, not to force recall.

Frequent lost time, substantial gaps in autobiographical memory, or confusion about familiar people and places deserves evaluation by a qualified professional.

PTSD or ADHD: How Can You Tell the Difference?

PTSD and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder can share several outward signs, including distractibility, forgetfulness, restlessness, disorganization, impulsivity, and difficulty completing tasks.

There are important differences, but they cannot always be determined through a simple checklist.

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder. Its symptoms begin in childhood, even when the person does not receive a diagnosis until adulthood. Trauma-related concentration problems may begin or become significantly worse after a traumatic experience and may fluctuate with reminders, hypervigilance, nightmares, or feelings of safety.

A professional will usually look closely at timing and context. Were attention and organization problems present during childhood and in more than one setting, or did they begin after a traumatic experience? Does focus become worse near particular people, places, sounds, dates, or other reminders? Do concentration problems rise and fall with nightmares, poor sleep, hypervigilance, intrusive memories, avoidance, or emotional numbness?

That history often provides more useful information than the symptom alone. Someone who struggled with attention throughout childhood may have unrecognized ADHD. Someone whose concentration changed dramatically following an assault, accident, loss, or prolonged abuse may be experiencing a trauma-related pattern. Neither example is sufficient for diagnosis, but each points toward different questions.

It is also possible to have both conditions. Trauma does not rule out ADHD, and ADHD does not rule out PTSD. When they occur together, ADHD may make it harder to organize coping strategies, while PTSD may further divide attention through threat monitoring and sleep disruption. A careful evaluation should consider developmental history, trauma history, current symptoms, sleep, health, medication, substance use, and daily functioning.

PTSD, Anxiety, or Depression?

Difficulty concentrating can occur with PTSD, anxiety disorders, and depression.

With generalized anxiety, attention may be consumed by ongoing worry about several parts of life. Depression may involve slowed thinking, low energy, hopelessness, and a loss of interest or motivation. PTSD-related concentration problems often occur alongside trauma reminders, avoidance, intrusive experiences, hypervigilance, nightmares, or changes in mood and beliefs after trauma.

These conditions frequently overlap. The goal of an evaluation is not merely to attach a label. It is to understand which patterns are present so treatment can address the actual causes of the difficulty.

Other Possible Causes of Difficulty Concentrating

Although this article focuses on PTSD, concentration problems should not automatically be attributed to trauma. Sleep deprivation alone can make attention and memory noticeably worse. Anxiety can fill the mind with worry, while depression can slow thought and reduce motivation. Chronic pain may repeatedly pull attention toward the body and leave a person mentally exhausted.

Medication side effects and the use of alcohol, cannabis, or other substances can also influence alertness and memory. Medical contributors may include hormonal or metabolic problems, nutritional deficiencies, acute illness, menopause, and neurological conditions. A concussion or other traumatic brain injury deserves particular attention when symptoms followed a blow or jolt to the head.

These possibilities are not mutually exclusive. A person can have PTSD and insomnia, ADHD and depression, or trauma symptoms alongside a medical condition. A medical or mental health evaluation may be necessary when symptoms persist, worsen, or interfere with daily life.

Do not stop or change prescribed medication without speaking with the healthcare provider who manages it.

What About a Traumatic Brain Injury?

PTSD and traumatic brain injury, including concussion, may share symptoms such as sleep problems, irritability, anxiety, headaches, memory problems, and difficulty concentrating.

The same incident—such as a motor vehicle accident, fall, assault, blast, or combat injury—may also cause both psychological trauma and a brain injury.

Because the symptoms overlap, it may be difficult to determine the cause without professional assessment. Tell a healthcare provider if the traumatic event involved a blow or jolt to the head, loss of consciousness, confusion, memory loss, vomiting, severe headache, dizziness, balance problems, or changes in vision.

Seek urgent medical care after a head injury when symptoms are severe, new, or worsening.

When Do Concentration Problems Need Prompt Medical Attention?

Seek urgent or emergency medical care when sudden confusion or difficulty thinking occurs with symptoms such as:

• Facial drooping or one-sided weakness or numbness
• Difficulty speaking or understanding speech
• A sudden, severe headache
• Loss of consciousness
• Seizure
• Serious head injury
• New difficulty walking
• Chest pain or severe shortness of breath
• High fever, stiff neck, or severe illness
• Rapidly worsening confusion
• An inability to remain awake

Do not assume sudden cognitive changes are caused by anxiety or PTSD.

How Are PTSD-Related Concentration Problems Evaluated?

A clinician will usually begin with the story of the symptom. When did the concentration problem begin? Did it appear suddenly or gradually? Was there a traumatic event, illness, medication change, period of poor sleep, or head injury near that time? Understanding whether attention problems existed during childhood can also help distinguish a longstanding developmental pattern from a more recent change.

The clinician may then explore what happens when concentration disappears. If focus collapses during trauma reminders, after nightmares, or while scanning the environment for danger, PTSD may be contributing. If it is consistently difficult across settings and has been present since childhood, ADHD may deserve consideration. Depression, anxiety, dissociation, substance use, chronic pain, and medical symptoms should also be discussed.

Daily consequences matter as much as the symptom itself. Forgetting part of a television program is different from missing medication, becoming lost while driving, making dangerous errors at work, or being unable to manage basic responsibilities. The level and type of impairment help determine which evaluation and support are appropriate.

A medical provider may recommend a physical examination, laboratory testing, medication review, sleep evaluation, or referral when another condition is possible.

A mental health professional may assess whether symptoms fit PTSD, ADHD, depression, anxiety, or another condition. In some cases, formal psychological or neuropsychological testing may be appropriate.

The purpose is not to prove that a person is failing. It is to identify what is interfering with attention and determine which forms of support may help.

Can PTSD-Related Concentration Problems Improve?

Yes. Many people notice improvements in concentration as PTSD symptoms, sleep, anxiety, and daily stress become more manageable.

Recovery is not always immediate or perfectly consistent. Focus may improve during calm periods and become harder again during anniversaries, conflict, major life changes, or unexpected trauma reminders.

This does not mean treatment has failed. It may mean that the nervous system needs additional support during a period of increased activation.

How Is PTSD-Related Difficulty Concentrating Treated?

Treatment depends on the cause. When concentration problems are part of PTSD, evidence-based trauma treatment may reduce the symptoms that are consuming attention.

The VA National Center for PTSD identifies Cognitive Processing Therapy, Prolonged Exposure, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing as three of the most strongly recommended trauma-focused psychotherapies for PTSD.

Cognitive Processing Therapy

Cognitive Processing Therapy, or CPT, helps people examine beliefs that developed after trauma, including beliefs about safety, trust, control, guilt, and self-worth.

As trauma-related distress and rigid beliefs become more manageable, some people find it easier to remain present and direct attention toward daily life.

Prolonged Exposure Therapy

Prolonged Exposure, or PE, helps people gradually approach trauma-related memories, feelings, and safe situations they have been avoiding.

This structured process can help the brain learn that a memory or reminder is not the same as current danger. As avoidance and hyperarousal decrease, fewer mental resources may be required for threat monitoring.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing

EMDR helps people process traumatic memories while attending to alternating visual, auditory, or tactile stimulation.

The goal is to reduce the distress connected to traumatic memories and help the brain experience them as events from the past rather than threats happening in the present.

Treatment for Sleep, Depression, Anxiety, or ADHD

When another condition contributes to concentration problems, it should be addressed as part of the treatment plan.

This may include treatment for insomnia, depression, anxiety, chronic pain, ADHD, substance use, or a medical condition. When PTSD and another diagnosis occur together, care may need to be coordinated among several professionals.

Clinical Hypnotherapy as a Complementary Approach

When appropriate, clinical hypnotherapy may be incorporated as a complementary part of an individualized treatment plan.

It may support focused attention, relaxation, grounding, imagery, and the rehearsal of healthier responses to stress. Clinical hypnotherapy should not be presented as a guaranteed cure, a method for recovering supposedly hidden memories, or a substitute for established trauma-focused treatment.

Its suitability depends on the individual’s symptoms, goals, history, and the clinician’s qualifications.

Medication

There is no medication prescribed specifically to cure PTSD-related brain fog.

Medication may be considered for diagnosed PTSD, depression, anxiety, ADHD, insomnia, or another condition contributing to the problem. Because some medications can also affect attention or memory, a complete review with a qualified prescriber is important.

Do not begin, stop, combine, or change medication based solely on information from an article.

What Can You Do When PTSD Makes It Hard to Focus?

Practical tools cannot replace professional care when symptoms are severe or persistent, but they may reduce the amount of information your brain must hold at once.

Reduce the Task

“Finish the report” may feel impossible. A smaller instruction—“open the document and write one sentence”—gives the brain a clear starting point.

Break tasks into short, visible steps and focus on only the next step.

Use External Memory Supports

Do not force your brain to remember everything internally.

You might use:

• One calendar for appointments
• Written checklists
• Phone reminders
• Notes from important conversations
• A designated place for keys, medication, and paperwork
• Labels or visual cues

These tools are accommodations, not evidence of weakness.

Work in Short Periods

Choose a manageable period of focused work followed by a brief break. Some people begin with 10 or 15 minutes rather than expecting an hour of uninterrupted concentration.

During the break, stand, stretch, drink water, or look outside instead of adding more information through news or social media.

Reduce Unnecessary Stimulation

When possible, turn off notifications, close unused browser tabs, clear the immediate workspace, or use a quieter location.

If facing a door or sitting with a clear view of the room helps you feel safer, arrange the environment in that way. A nervous system that feels less exposed may have more attention available for the task.

Ground Yourself Before Returning to the Task

If you notice that you have become activated or disconnected, pause before demanding more concentration.

You might:

• Name five things you can see
• Feel both feet against the floor
• Notice the support of the chair
• Take a slow breath without forcing it
• Remind yourself of the current date and location
• Identify one sign that you are safe in the present moment

The goal is not to erase every feeling. It is to help the brain distinguish the present from the past.

Protect Sleep

Consistent sleep and wake times, treatment for nightmares or insomnia, and a calmer evening routine may support attention during the day.

If sleep problems are persistent, severe, or accompanied by loud snoring, gasping, or extreme daytime sleepiness, discuss them with a healthcare provider.

Write Down Interrupting Thoughts

When an unrelated task or worry enters your mind, briefly place it on a “later” list instead of trying to solve it immediately.

This can reassure the brain that the thought will not be forgotten while allowing attention to return to the current activity.

Use Self-Compassionate Language

Thoughts such as “I’m stupid,” “I’m lazy,” or “I can’t do anything anymore” add shame and stress to an already overloaded system.

Try a more accurate statement:

“My concentration is difficult right now. I can reduce the task, use support, and take the next manageable step.”

How Loved Ones Can Help

Family members, partners, coworkers, and friends may be able to provide support by:

• Giving one instruction at a time
• Following verbal information with a written note
• Reducing unnecessary interruptions
• Asking what type of reminder is helpful
• Avoiding insults about laziness or intelligence
• Allowing a brief pause when the person becomes overwhelmed
• Encouraging professional care when symptoms interfere with daily life

Support should not become control. The person experiencing the symptom should remain involved in decisions about reminders, routines, and treatment.

When Should You Seek Professional Help?

Consider contacting a healthcare or mental health professional when concentration problems:

• Persist or become worse
• Interfere with work, school, parenting, or relationships
• Affect driving, medication use, finances, or personal safety
• Began after a head injury
• Occur with nightmares, flashbacks, avoidance, or hypervigilance
• Include frequent dissociation, lost time, or memory gaps
• Are accompanied by depression, severe anxiety, or hopelessness
• Lead to increased alcohol or drug use
• Began after starting or changing medication
• Represent a clear change from your previous functioning

If you are thinking about suicide or harming yourself, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the United States. If there is immediate danger, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.

PTSD and Memory Loss Do Not Mean You Are Failing

Trauma can make ordinary mental tasks feel unexpectedly difficult. PTSD and memory loss can become connected when the brain is so occupied with protection that it struggles to absorb, organize, or retrieve everyday information.

Your brain may be tracking danger, interrupting you with memories, protecting you through disconnection, or trying to function without enough sleep. What looks like poor focus from the outside may reflect a nervous system working overtime to keep you safe.

That does not mean every concentration problem is PTSD. It does mean that persistent changes deserve curiosity and appropriate evaluation—not criticism.

With trauma-informed care, evidence-based treatment, practical supports, and attention to other possible causes, many people can improve their ability to think clearly and participate more fully in daily life.

Healing does not require perfect concentration.

It begins by understanding what your brain has been trying to manage—and helping it learn that it no longer has to manage everything alone.

Looking for Trauma and PTSD Counseling in Conroe, Texas?

Kelly-Johnston Counseling provides individualized counseling for trauma, PTSD, anxiety, and related concerns.

Support is available for clients in Conroe, The Woodlands, Willis, Montgomery, Magnolia, Spring, and the greater North Houston area, as well as eligible clients throughout Texas through secure telehealth services.

If trauma-related concentration problems are affecting your work, relationships, peace, or daily functioning, reaching out for professional support can be an important first step toward greater clarity and a renewed sense of safety.

Trauma and PTSD Counseling in Conroe, TX | Kelly-Johnston Counseling

Article Sources

• National Institute of Mental Health: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
• VA National Center for PTSD: PTSD Basics
• VA National Center for PTSD: PTSD and DSM-5
• VA National Center for PTSD: Common Reactions After Trauma
• VA National Center for PTSD: Traumatic Brain Injury and PTSD
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: ADHD in Adults
• American Psychiatric Association: What Is PTSD?

Editorial Note

This article provides general educational information. It is not a diagnosis and is not a substitute for individualized medical, neurological, psychological, or mental health care.