Some veterans from the Vietnam War were so traumatized that any loud noise similar to the sound of gunshot triggered flashbacks of the war.
Grown men rolled into a gutter in order to 'take cover' from the sound of a car backfiring. The sound triggered a full-body reenactment of the war experience.
This experience of post-traumatic stress disorder was not under the veteran's concious control. It was an automatic response when the neural network associated with the trauma of war was triggered.
Again, take note that a Harvard/Casey study has proven that foster care alumni experience post-traumatic stress disorder at a rate twice that of Vietnam War veterans.
Source:
McGraw, Patricia. It's not your fault: How healing relationships change your brain and can help you overcome a painful past. IL: Bahaii Publishing, 2004.
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