Acute stress reaction
The Acute stress reaction ( Abbr: ABR, accurate response to acute stress [ a Hypallage to avoid ]; engl. Acute Stress Disorder, Abbr: ASD) is the result of extreme psychological stress, for which the person concerned or no suitable coping strategy has. Equivalent to the term acute stress disorder is sometimes used, but this is often criticized because the acute stress reaction expressly does not constitute a disorder in the sense of a disease and, consequently, should not be labeled as such ( see below, ugs nervous breakdown ). In general, this crisis is connected to the confrontation with physical or mental violence against themselves or others, or a loss situation.
Common triggers of acute stress reaction are the death of a loved one, the experience of accidents or experiencing violence. Depending on the individual constitution of the person concerned but can lead to an acute stress reaction also supposedly less intrusive experiences.
The Acute stress reaction, which in the WHO classification of diseases (International Classification of Diseases, current version ICD-10) is coded as F43.0, initially has no clinical significance, but is a normal reaction of the human psyche to an extraordinary experience.
Similar terms
- Acute crisis response
- War neurosis ( combat fatigue, Shellshock )
- State of crisis
- Psychological shock
- Colloquially: shock, nervous breakdown.
Course
The beginning of an acute stress reaction usually occurs between the experience of stressful situation. The reaction takes hours to days, in rare cases weeks. Here, the symptoms differ in the acute phase of which the subsequent processing phase. Keep the symptoms mentioned below the processing phase for longer than four weeks and is characterized before a psychological or social impairment, it is called post-traumatic stress disorder ( PTSD), in which it is a disease requiring therapy.
Symptoms
In the acute phase - ie in the so-called peritraumatic period - is primarily an anesthesia of the affected person striking. It seems important aspects of the situation not to notice or performs actions that seem inappropriate or pointless ( consciousness narrowing, cognitive disorder and disorientation ). Also, dissociative symptoms occur, so the feeling of not being oneself or to experience everything as through a filter or a camera ( depersonalization, derealization ). In most cases, the most impressive to outsiders are the strong emotional fluctuations of people who experienced an acute stress reaction. Severe grief can alternate within a short time with anger or aggression or apparent indifference. Can be accompanied by signs above a vegetative reaction, ie of general stress reactions such as sweating, heart palpitations or nausea.
In the subsequent phase of processing change the complaints usually take from the course of processing and usually disappear completely. In this processing phase, there is often a re-experiencing ( intrusion ) of the events, so the penetration of the experience in everyday life. This can be in the form of nightmares or as intrusive memories ( flashbacks ).
These flashbacks are often triggered by perceptions that are reminiscent of the stressful situation ( triggered). Often it smells or noises, such as the smell of burning flesh, or the noise of a car accident. Frequent consequence of this re-enactment is a pronounced avoidance behavior, for example, moves the person after a traffic accident at first no longer the same route as before. In addition, there may be emotional flattening, ie, to a limited sentience. Ultimately, there's often an increased level of arousal ( arousal ) with insomnia, nervousness or irritability.