2. Do you refuse to travel without a firearm?
3. Do you sometimes find yourself checking to ensure you locked the house...a second time?
4. Do you get anxious in tight crowds, so much so that you avoid them?
In today's world that's just common sense.
“In today’s world that’s just common sense. “
It’s a matter of degree.
If you’ve ever known someone with PTSD, you’d recognize just how much fear they carry with them...every waking moment.
Even when they are not aware of it. They think it’s normal.
As far as I know, anyone who goes through sustained tension and fear have long-term changes. I'm not sure what "PTSD" is but I do know that you will come back changed and somewhat flinchy.
I suspect that the survivors of the Pacific theater and the battles in Europe and the Korean vets as well as all of us who survived direct combat in Vietnam - as well as today's veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan - underwent the same changes.