A majority still have no idea what it is, or that it is a condition stemming from an experienced trauma. It can be caused by war experience, accidents, an assault or injury, or even sudden tragic news.

Over the years from war time experience it has been variously described as shell-shock and battle fatigue. Sufferers were frequently derided as cowards, hypochondriacs or malingerers.

It is a very personal thing. In 1996 the Port Arthur massacre caused PTSD among emergency services personnel and survivors, but also those on the periphery.

Someone watching a major tragedy on television could suffer. From what is known, the disorder can cause a person to experience a recurrence of the symptoms they experienced at the time of the trauma, such as fear, hysteria, depression, nausea, sweating and trembling.

It makes it understandable why war veterans who experience the horrors of war don’t want to talk about it. It’s not so much that they don’t want to remember it, but that they don’t want to relive it.

Now we know that it’s a condition, or disorder, needing treatment. Modern techniques include extensive counselling, not only for people affected by an incident but also for the counsellors who treated them.

Employers have counselling protocols to deal with work place incidents. New research suggests immediate debriefs after critical incidents do not work for everyone.

Employers must ensure various treatment and counselling options are available for different staff with different needs.

PTSD is a disorder of condition, not simply a mood. Like a physical injury it requires professional treatment, usually over an extended period of time.

If you believe it is an exaggerated form of injury, or just a symptom of the faint hearted, you’re fooling yourself.