Despite some symptom overlap between PTSD and other disorders, PTSD has several unique features that distinguish it from other disorders. DSM-5 provides specific differential diagnosis guidelines in order to help clinicians assign the most appropriate diagnoses.
The following elements are useful in distinguishing symptoms of PTSD from symptoms of other disorders:
- PTSD must be linked to a Criterion A stressor (i.e., a traumatic event), not just a stressful event.
- PTSD symptoms must be tied to the traumatic event either through content (e.g., memories of the event) or timing (i.e., they started or got worse after trauma exposure).