Acute Stress Disorder

Acute stress reaction (also referred to as acute stress disorder, psychological shock, mental shock, or simply shock) is a psychological response to a terrifying, traumatic, or surprising experience. It should not be confused with the unrelated circulatory condition of shock/hypoperfusion. Acute Stress Reaction (ASR) is never fatal, but it may develop into delayed stress reaction (better known as Posttraumatic stress disorder, or PTSD) if stress is not correctly managed. Acute stress reaction (also referred to as acute stress disorder, psychological shock, mental shock, or simply shock) is a psychological response to a terrifying, traumatic, or surprising experience. It should not be confused with the unrelated circulatory condition of shock/hypoperfusion. Acute Stress Reaction (ASR) is never fatal, but it may develop into delayed stress reaction (better known as Posttraumatic stress disorder, or PTSD) if stress is not correctly managed. Also known as a 'fight or flight' response, this reaction is caused by the release of adrenaline and norepinephrine. It speeds up the pulse and respiratory rate, dilates the pupils, and masks pain. This type of ASR has deep evolutionary roots and helps humans survive dangerous situations. It allows extraordinary physical effort even in the face of severe injury. However, it also makes the diagnosis of other physical problems difficult by hiding pain and altering vital signs. Parasympathetic ASR is the faint and nauseous feeling some people experience at the sight of blood. In this stress response, the body releases acetylcholine. In many ways, it is the opposite of the sympathetic response, in that it slows heart rate and can cause the patient to throw up or temporarily pass out. The evolutionary value of this is unclear, except perhaps that predators may avoid eating ill prey. The DSM-IV specifies that Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) must be accompanied by the presence of dissociative symptoms, which largely differentiates it from PTSD. Dissociative symptoms include a sense of numbing or detachment from emotional reactions, a sense of physical detachment, such as seeing oneself from another perspective, decreased awareness of one’s surroundings, the perception that one’s environment is unreal or dreamlike, and the inability to recall critical aspects of the traumatic event (dissociative amnesia). In addition to the characteristic dissociative symptoms, Acute Stress Disorder from the DSM-5 can present from four other distinct symptom clusters such as: There are several theoretical perspectives on trauma response, including cognitive, biological, and psycho-biological. While the theories are PTSD-specific, they are still useful in understanding ASD, as both share many symptoms. Acute stress disorder (abbreviated ASD, and not to be confused with autism spectrum disorder) is the result of a traumatic event in which the person experiences or witnesses an event that causes the victim/witness to experience extreme, disturbing, or unexpected fear, stress, or pain, and that involves or threatens serious injury, perceived serious injury, or death to themselves or someone else. A study of rescue personnel after exposure to a traumatic event showed no gender difference in acute stress reaction. Acute stress reaction is a variation of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A recent study found that even a single stressful event may end up having long-term consequences in the brain. This result calls the traditional distinction between the effects of acute and chronic stress into question.