Post Traumatic Stress may be described as "The sudden cessation of human interaction"

This is a state of mind, induced when you experience or are involved in a disturbing or 'traumatic' event.  It is an emotional and physiological response to an event that is outside the range of normal human experience. Sufferers experiencing PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) are perfectly normal people, experiencing normal reactions to abnormal situations.

• NHS Guidelines for treatment of PTSD, pdf file 252 kbytes
• PTSD Article by David Bennett, Director of the Traumatic Stress Centre (Wales).
• PTSD Poem by Graeme Lowden, ex POWEM(R) HMS Alacrity 80-82
• Will services cope with Marines' stress? Article in Taunton Times, May 2003