Also called acute stress disorder, ASR can appear quickly after an exceptional physical or mental stressor such as a bereavement, a road traffic incident, or an assault, but does not usually last long.
What is it?
Symptoms of ASR are anxiety and dissociative behavior following exposure to a traumatic and unexpected life event. The person may feel disconnected from themselves, have difficulty handling emotions, suffer mood swings, become depressed and anxious, and have panic attacks. They often experience difficulty sleeping, poor concentration, and recurrent dreams and flashbacks, and may avoid situations that trigger memories of the event. Some individuals have physiological symptoms such as raised heart rate, breathlessness, excessive sweating, headaches, chest pain, and nausea. ASR is described as acute
because the symptoms come on fast, but do not usually last.Symptoms of ASR can begin within hours of the stress and are resolved within a month; if they last longer they may turn into PTSD (opposite). ASR may resolve without therapy.
Talking things over with friends or relatives can help those with the disorder understand the event and put it into context. Individuals may benefit from psychotherapies, too.
HOW DOES ASR DIFFER FROM PTSD?
ASR and PTSD are similar, but the time frames are different. The symptoms of ASR occur within a month of an event and they usually resolve within the same month. The symptoms of PTSD may or may not develop within a month of the event or events. PTSD is not diagnosed unless the symptoms have been evident for more than three months. There is an overlap between what the symptoms are. However, in ASR symptoms involving feelings, such as dissociation, depression, and anxiety, predominate. With PTSD the symptoms relate to a prolonged or persistent response to the fight-orflight mechanism . There is a higher risk of ASR developing in a person who has had PTSD or mental health issues in the past, and ASR can lead to PTSD.
TREATMENT
❯ Psychotherapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy to identify and reevaluate thoughts and behaviors that maintain anxiety and low mood.
❯ Lifestyle management including supportive listening and stressrelieving practices such as yoga or meditation.
❯ Beta-blockers and antidepressants to ease physical symptoms in combination with psychotherapy.
80%
of people with ASR develop PTSD 6 months later
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