Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) dates as far back as the Civil War and gained recognition after studies of Vietnam veterans and victims of rape were conducted.1 It was officially classified in the Diagnostics and Sta tistics Manual fix Mental Health (DSM-IV) in 1980 by the American Psychiatric Association but remained camouflaged among other anxieties, including adjustment disorders, of which veterans have batded for treatment and disability compensation for months, even years. Traumatic reactions are different, however, when nothing can be done to change the outcome of life-threatening or horrific events and stressors beyond human control, including war, terrorism, rape or sexual assault, child abuse, family violence, accidents, natural disasters, fire, diagnosis of serious illness, and sudden unexpected death of a loved one,8 which disrupt functions within our autonomic system like a deer fronting headlights.