Survey Reveals That Renaming Post-Traumatic Stress ‘Disorder’ to ‘Injury’ Would Reduce Stigma

Background Self-stigmatization has an estimated prevalence of 41.2% among adults with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Since the name PTSD was introduced, arguments have been made that the term “disorder” may discourage patients from revealing their condition and seeking care. We hypothesize that renaming PTSD to post-traumatic stress injury (PTSI) would reduce the stigma associated with PTSD and improve patients’ likelihood of seeking medical help. Methods An anonymous online survey was distributed by the Stella Center (Chicago, IL) between August 2021 and August 2022 to 3000 adult participants, of which 1500 were clinic patients and visitors. Another 1500 invitations were sent out to the Stella Center’s website visitors. Results A total of 1025 subjects responded to the survey. The respondents were 50.4% female (51.6% had been diagnosed with PTSD) and 49.6% male (48.4% had been diagnosed with PTSD). Over two-thirds of the respondents agreed that a name change to PTSI would reduce the stigma associated with the term PTSD. Over half of the respondents agreed that it would increase their hope of finding a solution and their likelihood of seeking medical help. The cohort diagnosed with PTSD was most likely to believe in the impact of a name change. Conclusion This study provides significant insight into the potential impact of renaming PTSD to PTSI. The biggest effect is likely to be the reduction or elimination of stigma, followed by an increase in the hope of finding successful medical treatment for PTSD. The above changes will likely improve access to care and reduce suicidal ideation in a complex cohort.