What Causes Acute Stress Disorder? Who’s at Risk for This Disorder?

Acute stress disorder (ASD) is referred to an anxiety condition. An individual who has experienced or witnessed a deadly, frightening or other distressing event is exposed to developing the symptoms of acute stress disorder (ASD). Generally, the disorder happens to an individual within 30 days of a traumatic incident. It is found to last, in any case, 3 days and can continue for 30 days. An individual with the stress disorder are diagnosed with the signs similar to those common symptoms found in the people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

What Leads to this Disorder?

An individual is prone to developing the stress disorder if he or she confronts some frightening events. The experts say that the event creates fear and intense insecurity, which result in ASD. These are some fearful events that may cause acute stress at any point in time:

• Death
• Life-threating threats to oneself or to someone close
• Threat of rape or other physical integrity

Around 6 to 33% of people who witness a hurtful incident develop the symptoms of ASD, as reported by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Therefore, we cannot rule out the possibility of such troubling disorder if an individual comes through any of the events pointed out above.

What are the Symptoms?

The signs of ASD generally start developing soon after a traumatic incident. An accurate diagnosis can be administered only if the symptoms are present for between 3-30 days.

The symptoms include:

• Feeling traumatized, disconnected, and emotionally insensitive
• Being unaware of the things around
• Things, around you, seem unreal and strange
• When your thoughts or activities seem unreal
• Dissociative symptoms that lead to detachment; you fail to recognize the things

In addition to these symptoms, an individual may also experience some other indications as mentioned below:

• Trouble in sleeping
• being irritable
• Unable to concentrate
• Keep moving your body parts
• Being constantly tense
• Getting disconnected very frequently

Who is at Risk for ASD?

Anyone who has experienced frightening incident is prone to developing the disorder. Those who have the following experiences are at greater risk of ASD:

• Those who have witnessed any fearful event
•  An individual with the history of PTSD
• An individual with the history of bad mental history
• An individual with dissociative indications

How Intensive Outpatient Services Can Help Treat the Distress:

An individual with the disorder needs a much-needed attention and support to get rid of the traumatic shocks. One of the most important things why intensive outpatient services are recommended for ASD is that the program gives an effective and supportive session.   

The program provides increased session of treatment, which ultimately results in quick and better recovery. An individual also gets opportunity to apply their newly-learnt skills in the real world. Hiring experienced professionals can be an informed decision if you need a focused treatment session for the disorder. 

Lahor Behavioral Services, LLC is a CARF Accredited Mental Health and Behavioral issues Rehabilitation Agency with a team of compassionate and experienced professionals. The team gives 24/7 monitoring services for kids to adults, ages 3-99.