Symptoms Of Acute Stress: Signs To Identify This Disorder
Do you know what acute stress disorder consists of? Enter to discover its different symptoms and their relationship with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Any traumatic event generates terror and helplessness for those who experience it since it endangers the psychological or physical integrity of people. Sometimes, people are unable to cope with the situation since the experience exceeds psychological coping resources, triggering the presence of psychological disorders such as, for example, acute stress disorder.
Perhaps at this point you are wondering if acute stress disorder is the same as post-traumatic stress disorder (also known as PTSD). To discover it, continue reading the article and you will be able to find out what is stress acute, what differentiates it from PTSD and what are the symptoms of acute stress disorder.
He acute stress disorder It is a disorder classified in the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) as a type of disorder related to traumas and the factors of stress All the disorders found in this group have in common that they arise after exposure to a traumatic event or severe stress. However, its presence does not depend solely on the traumatic event since on various occasions, we can find people who have gone through the same situation and do not end up developing any disorder. So what does it depend on? The reality, like most psychological disorders, is that there is no single cause but rather its development depends on the combination of different risk factors. In this case, some of the facts that have been confirmed are that people who already have a psychological disorder are more vulnerable to developing the disorder. acute stress disorder and that when the event is intentional (such as, for example, an attack) the chances of suffering from it increase.
Another of the main characteristics of the disorder acute stress is that its duration is from 3 days to 1 month from exposure to the traumatic situation. In fact, the acute stress After exposure to a threatening experience, it constitutes the first phase of post-traumatic stress disorder and the period of one month is the stage in which responses are oriented towards recovery or fixation of symptoms and, therefore, to the development of post-traumatic stress disorder In fact, many professionals place acute stress disorder as an adaptive (healthy) response of people to potentially dangerous situations. stressful either threatening Therefore, it is essential that during this period the person receives the necessary help to prevent the maintenance of these symptoms.
Symptoms of acute stress:
Taking into account the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), the symptoms of this disorder can be divided into five different categories:
Exposure to a traumatic experience:
As we have already mentioned, one of the characteristic symptoms of acute stress disorder is having been exposed to death, sexual violence or some serious injury either through direct experience, having witnessed the event (does not apply to exposure through the media), having knowledge that a family member close friend or a close friend has been exposed or constantly exposed to traumatic events, such as, for example, police officers who are repeatedly exposed to details of childhood violence.
Intrusive symptoms:
Intrusive memories and thoughts are characterized by not being evoked by people, that is, they appear without wanting them and generate discomfort. These are very common in people who have this disorder but are also common in others, such as, for example, obsessive-compulsive disorder. In it acute stress disorder the following can be presented:
The person remembers the traumatic event recurrently and these memories are distressing, involuntary and intrusive In the case of children, this symptom can be expressed by games that are very repetitive and that revolve around the traumatic event.
Recurring dreams in which the content is related to the event.
Presence of dissociative reactions reactions in which the person feels or acts as if the traumatic event were happening at that precise moment.
The person presents intense psychological discomfort or intense physical reactions in response to stimuli that resemble the traumatic event (sounds, people, etc.).
People who have this disorder may present both symptoms related to their mood, as well as coping strategies focused on the mood. avoidance with the aim of minimizing emotional responses related to the event. Specifically, the symptoms can be:
Persistent difficulties in experiencing positive emotions (satisfaction, happiness, joy, etc.) but do present negative emotions such as fear, shame, among others.
Great efforts to avoid memories, feelings and/or thoughts that are related to the trauma.
Avoidance of people, conversations, activities, situations, objects, etc. that are related to or reminiscent of the event traumatic
Dissociative symptoms:
Dissociative symptoms are those in which the person feels disconnected either with the environment, with their own person, with memories, etc. and can remain for hours or even days. The symptoms are:
Difficulties remembering important aspects related to the event in question and these difficulties are not associated with drug use or any brain injury.
Altered sense of self (depersonalization) and reality (derealization). They may feel that time passes slowly, see themselves as if they were another person, etc.
Warning symptoms:
Due to the experience, people can remain constantly alert and may manifest the following symptoms:
Problems related to sleep, whether due to difficulties in falling asleep and/or maintaining sleep, due to nightmares or due to the hypervigilance they present.
Irritability and outbursts of hostility with little or no provocation that can be expressed either in the form of verbal or physical aggression against people and/or objects.
Difficulties concentrating and remembering everyday events.
Hypervigilance and startle response that is activated in an exaggerated manner when faced with stimuli that are neither intense nor threatening, such as the ringing of a telephone.
If you have recently suffered any traumatic or very serious situation stressful and you present any of the symptoms mentioned, it is important that you contact a specialized professional to prevent the symptoms from persisting over time and to recover your well-being.
