Acute Stress Disorder
Acute stress disorder (ASD) is a mental health condition that can occur soon (typically within the first month) after a traumatic event such as an assault, natural disaster, or other trauma. Symptoms typically include, but are not limited to:
Anxiety
Intense fear or helplessness.
Flashbacks or nightmares of the traumatic event.
Feeling number or detached from one’s body or surroundings.
Avoiding situations, places or people that remind or relate to the traumatic event.
Examples of traumatic events include:
Sexual assault.
Physical assault.
Natural disasters.
Witnessing bodily harm or death.
Serious accidents, such as a motor vehicle collision.
Experiencing a severe injury or sudden illness.
Combat-related trauma.
What is the difference between asd and ptsd?
The main difference between acute stress disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the length of the symptoms. Acute stress disorder involves stress reactions that happen within 30 days following a traumatic event. Stress reactions lasting longer than four weeks may meet the criteria for PTSD. The American Psychiatric Association first classified acute stress disorder as a mental health diagnosis in 1994 in the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV).
What causes acute stress disorder?
It is not currently clear why people respond differently to traumatic events. However, one theory involves the concept of “fear conditioning.” This happens when your body exhibits a fear response to certain stimuli associated with a traumatic event. For example, if you were in a car accident and you had fast food in your vehicle and it was nighttime, future encounters with the smell of fast food at night may trigger your body to have the same fear response that you did during the traumatic event even though there’s no threat to your safety. Some people may adapt to fear conditioning via extinction learning, which involves a gradual reduction in response to the traumatic triggers. If this doesn’t work, you could develop acute stress disorder and potentially PTSD.
How is asd diagnosed and treated?
Psychotherapy (talk therapy) is the main treatment for acute stress disorder. A form of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) called trauma-focused CBT is especially effective. This therapy takes place with a trained, licensed mental health professional, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. It provides support, education and guidance to the patient and, if necessary, their family/support system.
Trauma-focused CBT involves:
Learning about how your body responds to trauma and stress.
Symptom management skills.
Identifying and reframing problematic thinking patterns.
Exposure therapy.
Exposure therapy involves safely exposing you to your sources of fear and avoidance. People with acute stress disorder may avoid things or situations that they associate with the traumatic event. Because of this, they aren’t able to learn that they can manage their fears when presented with these stimuli. Therapists use exposure therapy for people who have ASD to slowly encourage them to enter situations that cause them anxiety and to try to stay in that situation so that they can learn to cope.