The best thing you can do to prevent PTSD from occurring is not easy: facing your fears and emotions honestly and quickly. While it may seem natural to avoid re-living such a painful memory, the Anxiety Disorders Association of America, the Expert Consensus Guidelines for PTSD and the American Psychiatric Association all agree that it is very important to face these memories. Here is their advice, reprinted with permission of the authors:

"People have a natural tendency to avoid inflicting pain on themselves, and it certainly is painful to stay in touch with traumatic memories. However, if you try to push the memories of the trauma away, PTSD symptoms are likely to become more severe and last longer. It is therefore important to face the memories, feel the emotions and try to work through them. It can also be very helpful to reach out to other people who can provide support and share your feelings about what happened. It is common and natural to feel guilty after a trauma, but it is also irrational and not helpful. Revealing your sense of guilt to other people you trust can help you to see that what happened was not your fault. Try to get back to doing the things you've always done as soon as possible."