By: Sara E. Teller
Unless you are a professional in the mental health space, it can be hard to keep the various possible disorders straight. Some of the names sound similar, and it’s easy enough to be confused by which disorder relates to which set of symptoms, and what issues you or a loved one might be facing.
This article is going to help sort things out between two common disorders tied to trauma – Acute Stress Disorder and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. While these issues do have some things in common, they are not the same, and understanding the difference can help figure out how you should best proceed. We’ll start with a definition of each to help you establish a clear understanding of the challenges that face anyone with one of these disorders.
What is Acute Stress Disorder?
To get started, let’s talk about Acute Stress Disorder, often simply called acute stress. With this type of disorder, symptoms are going to come on almost immediately after a traumatic event has occurred. The symptoms that are experienced will last for different durations for different people, but they could range from just a few days to a few weeks.
Virtually any type of traumatic event could serve as a trigger for acute stress symptoms. It might be something that affects millions of people – such as a natural disaster – or it could be something deeply personal like a death in the family or being the victim of an assault. Anything that is sufficiently traumatic could lead to symptoms of of this disorder in the days that follow the event. It is important to note that the event and stress is ongoing when symptoms emerge.
As you might have guessed, acute stress disorder symptoms can vary wildly from one person to the next. Some common symptoms include anxiety, reexperiencing, struggles with sleep, a desire to be left alone, and a general feeling of detachment or depression. It’s also possible that someone affected with this disorder will try to distance themselves from the traumatic event in an effort to minimize the symptoms and restore a sense of normalcy.
What is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder?
In the minds of most people, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD – is closely associated with the military. It’s all too common for military members to deal with PTSD after they have returned home from combat, and the struggles they face are very real and very important.
With that said, PTSD is certainly not limited to service members. With PTSD, the symptoms are going to develop further down the road after a trauma has occurred. PTSD could arise in reaction to something that happened many months ago, or even many years prior. There isn’t any time limit on when this disorder can arise based on a past trauma. Also, it’s not always the case that someone who develops PTSD was previously dealing with ASD. That could be the case,
certainly, but it’s possible that ASD does not occur and the individual only later deals with the trauma in the form of PTSD.
There is some overlap in the symptoms that can be seen between ASD and PTSD, but they are not exactly the same. With PTSD, affected individuals may deal with ongoing flashbacks that take them mentally back to the trauma that is causing the disorder. Like with ASD, difficulty sleeping and a desire to be isolated might occur, and the overall mood of the person may be anxious or depressed. Additionally, some people with PTSD wind up taking part in particularly dangerous activities, or in behaviors that are destructive to the stability of their lives.
Treatment is Important and Valuable
Getting treatment for the symptoms that come with these two disorders is perhaps the most important thing that an affected individual can do to jumpstart road to recovery. Trying to deal with these issues alone – or pretending that they don’t exist – is more likely to lead to trouble in the short and long term. It’s, sadly, common for people in this position to turn to alcohol or drugs as a way to cope with what they are experiencing.
By working with a medical professional, the individual can first get a clear and decisive diagnosis, which will help inform the treatment plan that will be put into place. There is a range of potential treatments that are available to lessen the impacts of these disorders and help the individual get to a better place in life.
No one should suffer alone with either Acute Stress Disorder or PTSD. These disorders can both have a profound impact on a person’s quality of life, and the effects can be felt by family members and friends, as well. If you or someone close to you is dealing with symptoms commonly associated with Acute Stress Disorder or PTSD, be sure to seek professional help as soon as possible.