Acute PTSD is diagnosed one month after trauma; Chronic PTSD involves symptoms persisting beyond three months.

• A. Acute PTSD is diagnosed one month after trauma; Chronic symptoms persist beyond three months
• B. Acute PTSD is diagnosed immediately after trauma
• C. Chronic PTSD resolves within six months
• D. PTSD is not time-bound

Answer: (A)

Understanding how timing defines PTSD helps here. PTSD isn’t diagnosed immediately after trauma; the diagnosis requires that symptoms persist for at least one month after the event. When those symptoms endure for more than three months, clinicians often describe the course as chronic. This option captures both time points: onset at one month post-trauma for PTSD, and persistence beyond three months for a chronic course.

The other statements misstate the timing. Being diagnosed right after trauma isn’t how PTSD works, since diagnostic criteria require a one-month threshold. Saying chronic PTSD resolves within six months contradicts the idea of chronicity. And claiming PTSD is not time-bound ignores that duration and persistence are central to distinguishing PTSD presentations. (Note: Acute Stress Disorder is the diagnosis used for symptoms from three days to one month after trauma, which is separate from PTSD.)