pretraumatic stress disorder
a condition characterized by prolonged, significant anxiety about a potential threatening or otherwise devastating event, such as a terrorist attack or wartime violence. The individual remains in a constant state of worry and heightened stress at his or her perceived helplessness to prevent the expected future trauma and often mentally experiences the dreaded event again and again. For example, a soldier soon to be deployed for the first time may repeatedly visualize his friends wounded in a combat-zone explosion and mentally hear their cries for help. The resulting symptoms (e.g., fear, anger, vulnerability, uncertainty, irritability, concentration difficulties, insomnia, appetite disturbances) are so intense as to negatively affect daily functioning. Also called pretraumatic stress syndrome. [named by analogy with posttraumatic stress disorder]