Stress disorders are a group of mental health disorders that cause symptoms including anxiety, depression and panic attacks. Stress disorders affect about 7% of the US population, or roughly 6.5 million people, and are a common cause of anxiety and depression. Stress disorders are psychological conditions that are often the result of an unpleasant experience or even a traumatic one. This includes conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Stress disorders affect people in different ways. Most people with a stress disorder tend to have more symptoms when they are under pressure than when they are not. Other people have symptoms only when they are under a lot of stress, and may only occur for a short amount of time. The most common types of stress disorders include post-traumatic stress disorder and acute stress disorder.

Stress can cause a myriad of physical symptoms that can range in severity and duration. Common symptoms of stress include:

– Headache
– Muscle tension or pain
– Chest pain
– Fatigue
– Change in sex drive
– Stomach pain
– Digestive issues
– Sleep problems

Acute stress disorder is characterized by several different symptoms; patients with this disorder may experience all, or only a few of these symptoms:

Sense of Detachment — A common symptom of acute stress disorder is a sense of detachment or dissociation; this can occur during or after the traumatic event. Detachment is experienced subjectively, so people may experience different symptoms, including a feeling of numbness or an overall lack of emotional responsiveness.

Loss of Awareness — As one of the key symptoms of acute stress disorder, a person enters a surreal state of awareness where immediate surroundings seem dream-like.

Depersonalization — Similar to detachment, depersonalization is characterized by a sense of being outside one’s body and/or mind, which can lessen a person’s feeling of significance and/or permanence.

Re-experiencing the Event — After experiencing a traumatic event, people with acute stress disorder often repeatedly relive the experience in one of the following ways:

– Flashback episodes
– Illusions
– Recurrent images
– Dreams
– Thoughts
– Reliving the experience in real-time
– Experiencing distress when exposed to a reminder

Avoidance Behaviors — It is common for people with this disorder to avoid anything that reminds them of the traumatic event, such as people, places, and activities.

Hyper-Arousal — An abnormally alert state of being or feelings of anxiety, hyper-arousal can cause a person to lose sleep, have problems concentrating, or have an exaggerated startle response.

In most situations, acute stress disorder is treated with psychotherapy and/or medications. Psychotherapy is one of the most effective treatment options for acute stress disorder and offers different approaches to help a person resolve internal, and emotional conflicts caused by a traumatic event. This may be a standalone treatment, or it may be combined with medications to achieve better outcomes. If you are having difficulty dealing with the stress in your life, come to RejuvaMed for professional help. Call us today to book an appointment with our stress disorders treatment specialist, or visit our clinic conveniently located at 28945 State Road 54, Suite 101, Wesley Chapel, FL 33543. We look forward to serving you! We serve patients from Wesley Chapel FL, Land o Lakes FL, Lutz FL, New Tampa FL, Tampa Palms FL, Zephyrhills FL, San Antonio FL, Dade City FL, Tampa FL and surrounding areas.