Acute stress disorder (ASD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are reactions to traumatic events. Reactions include intrusive thoughts or dreams, the avoidance of reminders of the event, and negative effects on mood, cognition, arousal, and reactivity. Acute stress disorder (ASD) is a mental health problem that can occur in the first month after a traumatic event. The symptoms of ASD are similar to those of PTSD, but you must have them for more than a month to have PTSD.
Learn more about ASD and treatment options. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that is triggered by a frightening event that is experienced or witnessed. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares, and intense anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event. Learning more about these conditions can help you differentiate between the two diagnoses.
Acute stress disorder refers to the initial traumatic symptoms that arise immediately after a traumatic event. PTSD refers to the long-term after-effects of trauma. PTSD can appear after ASD, but it can also occur even when ASD doesn't develop. PTSD can only be diagnosed if symptoms have lasted more than a month.
The main differences between acute stress disorder and PTSD relate to the onset, duration of symptoms, the symptoms experienced, and the treatment options used to treat each condition. This is the first of two complementary articles on the topic of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and acute stress disorder (ASD). Finding help for PTSD or seeking treatment for acute stress disorder can dramatically improve a person's quality of life. Because of the relatively recent incorporation of ASD, there are relatively few measures of acute stress that have been validated according to the DSM-IV criteria.
PTSD treatment and acute stress disorder treatment can help people live a meaningful and happy life by teaching them ways to reduce traumatic arousal and develop healthier coping skills to manage distress. By convention, PTSD with symptoms that last 1 to 3 months is called acute, while PTSD with symptoms that last longer than three months is called chronic. Several recent studies have attempted to identify biological markers or risk factors for the development of PTSD, the two most promising being low cortisol levels in the acute aftermath of trauma and an increase in the heart rate at rest shortly after trauma. Trained therapists, doctors, and psychologists know how to treat acute stress disorder with a combination of evidence-based practices and compassion.
It can also lead to the onset of mental illnesses, such as acute stress disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This is the first of two articles that summarize the nature and treatment of PTSD and the condition associated with acute stress disorder (ASD). Today, perhaps the best candidate for that role is the diagnosis of acute stress disorder (ASD). If you or a loved one is living with substance use that co-exists with acute stress disorder or PTSD, call The Recovery Village today.
These and similar data support the usefulness of the current convention of not diagnosing PTSD during the first month after the event, since elevated symptoms immediately after a potentially traumatic event may be regulatory, and to differentiate between acute and chronic PTSD, since people who still have PTSD three months after the trauma are not likely to recover if there is no treatment. .
