Question:

A patient with a history of a road traffic accident 2 months ago presents with complaints of dreams of accidents. He is able to visualize the same scene whenever he visits the place and is afraid to go back to the accident site. Identify the type of disorder he might be suffering from:

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A defined trauma with flashbacks and avoidance lasting over a month names the disorder.
Updated On: Jun 24, 2026
  • Adjustment disorder
  • PTSD
  • Anxiety disorder
  • OCD
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The Correct Option is B

Solution and Explanation

Step 1: The patient has an etiologically significant trauma (a road traffic accident) followed by a characteristic symptom cluster. Step 2: He has intrusive re-experiencing (recurrent accident dreams and vivid flashbacks of the same scene) and avoidance behaviour (fear of returning to the accident site). Symptoms persist beyond one month, here about two months. Step 3: A defined trauma plus re-experiencing plus avoidance lasting more than a month is the diagnostic picture of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Step 4: Adjustment disorder follows a stressor but lacks the specific re-experiencing and flashback intrusions. Generalised anxiety disorder has free-floating worry without a defining traumatic event. OCD features obsessions and compulsions, not trauma-linked flashbacks. So the diagnosis is PTSD.
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