Soldiers are returning home as combat operations wrap up in Iraq, and some return differently than when they left.

Post-traumatic stress disorder is usually linked to such situations, but experts say the disorder can affect anyone.

"What is important to know about PTSD is that a traumatic stressor is based on an individual's perception of the event," said Dr. Jeff Black, medical director of Laurelwood Hospital in Gainesville. "It can be anything involving an actual or perceived threat of serious injury, death or even damage to one's integrity."

Physical and sexual abuse can be traumatic stressors, as can incidents such as car accidents or natural disasters like tornadoes, Black said.

Those who develop PTSD may not have even been a direct party in a traumatic event; some individuals who have only witnessed such events have been known to develop symptoms.

"Stressors are really an individual experience. For example, when the tornadoes came through (in 1998), a lot of people didn't develop PTSD symptoms, but some did," Black said.

"That's not to imply that one person is stronger or better able to process events than others; it just depends on an individual's interpretation."

According to the American Psychiatric Association, symptoms of PTSD may include outbursts of anger, hallucinations, feelings of detachment or extreme avoidance of certain situations or events.

Any time an individual, even a child, experiences something that creates an extreme feeling of fear, helplessness or horror, they could develop PTSD symptoms.

"Symptoms in children may present themselves differently than in adults because they are trying to make sense of something that doesn't fully make sense (to them)," Black said.

"They may sometimes display PTSD behaviors during play, but they may not have a memory of the specific event - especially if it happened when they were very young."

Although individuals may exhibit PTSD symptoms, they may never fully develop the disorder. Symptoms must persist for at least a month or impair an individual's ability to function in the world before a PTSD diagnosis may be applicable, Black said.

PTSD treatment options include medications, but the primary tool should be counseling, some professionals say.

"Medications can be very effective in dampening some of the PTSD responses, but you have to be careful that you aren't setting your patient up with another problem: potential addiction," Black said.

"Personally, I think that medication should only be about 30 percent of the solution. Maybe around 70 percent in the beginning, but only 30 percent of the long-term solution.

Patients with PTSD really need a good therapist to help them deal with their condition."