Acute Stress

Many people suffer from acute stress and exhibit symptoms like severe anxiety, restlessness, a sense of hopelessness and depressive behavior. This type of stress usually occurs following an intensely traumatic situation such as serious accident or death of a loved one.

Symptoms Of Stress Disorder

Some of the common acute stress symptoms include depression in family, a strong feeling of being dissociative, inability to enjoy previously pleasurable activities, decreased emotional responsiveness and a strong feeling of guilt. Intense stress disorder is a condition also characterized by other symptoms such as difficulty in concentrating, a dreamlike, surreal experience, a feeling of being detached from their bodies and difficulty in recollecting details of the stress triggering event.

Some patients suffering from stress disorder may experience the traumatic event all over again through illusions, dreams, thoughts, images and recurrent recollections. They may also relive the event through flashback episodes or may be reminded of it with exposure to stimuli reminiscent of the traumatic event. Those who suffer from these symptoms may require immediate acute stress treatment and a welcome of eustress definition as well.

Other associated symptoms that may occur in response to remembering and reliving the trauma include irritability, insomnia, an exaggerated response of being startled, hyper-vigilance, poor concentration and motor restlessness.

Diagnosis Of Acute Stress Disorder

This disorder is often diagnosed only after the person’s exposure to a trauma inducing event. The event could have occurred to the patient itself or he or she could have been witness to events that threatened physical integrity of self or others, serious injury or even death. Response that could trigger this disorder includes horror, helplessness and fear.
Dissociative acute stress symptoms experienced by the patient either during or after the event include reduced awareness of the surroundings, a sense of detachment and numbing and an obvious absence of appropriate emotional responses. Other symptoms include dissociative amnesia that prevents patients from remembering details of the event, depersonalization and de-realization. It is imperative to reach out for acute stress treatment to bring symptoms under control and get back to normalcy.

Clinical Evaluation Of Acute Stress

The patient suffering from this disorder continues to experience and relive the traumatic event and exhibiting symptoms in the same intensity. Symptoms are relived in the form of dreams, recurrent images and flash back episodes. Clinical evaluation of acute stress symptoms must also take into account the fact that people suffering from this disorder continue to avoid stimuli that may remind them of the traumatic event. They tend to avoid feelings, thoughts, people, places, activities and conversations pertaining to the event.

Only when the above mentioned symptoms are acute can they be assessed clinically. This means, the disorder can be diagnosed only if there is significant impairment in the occupational and social sense. If the condition becomes severe and life debilitating, it is important to reach out for acute stress treatment immediately. This will prevent the patients from reaching out for substances. At any cost, substance abuse and any compulsive dependence must be avoided and proper treatment must be administered as early as possible.