Disregarding the clinical definition of PTSD as I'm not qualified to diagnose, I will answer a slightly different question: "Is _career trauma_ real and possib

Disregarding the clinical definition of PTSD as I'm not qualified to diagnose, I will answer a slightly different question: "Is _career trauma_ real and possible?" Yes, absolutely. I had an experience early in my career where I was working with a partner who was toxic, and over months and months I became more and more stressed out, and eventually I ended up having health problems. I finally had to end the partnership, and my health improved significantly -- but I was deeply burned out for a while, it took a long time to get all the way back to productivity. So yeah, trauma in your work life is very real, it happens to many people, and it's difficult to recover from. But life does get better, and you can recover! Definitely consider counseling if you aren't getting it already. A professional counselor can be a very big help to your mental health - and remember that in knowledge work our mental health is our vocational bread and butter, so it's worth investing in :)