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Are Mental Health Problems Preventable?
Stress response disorder, also known as adjustment or acute stress disorder, is when you struggle to adjust to a new situation or circumstance. Stress response disorder is a short-term mental health condition that is very similar to post-traumatic stress disorder. It often follows a traumatic event, such as an injury, being assaulted, an accident, or another traumatic experience.
Stress response syndromes happen quickly and without warning, and people typically do not know how to handle them. Therefore, it is important to seek immediate treatment and assistance if you or someone you love is struggling with a stress response syndrome, such as adjustment disorder or acute stress disorder. Treatment will typically include the following methods.
As with most mental health conditions, medications are one of the best and worst options for treatment. There is no doubt that medications are very helpful in calming the brain and easing symptoms of stress response syndrome so that you can work through your condition. However, as we will soon see, medications can have unwanted side effects that affect you in other ways.
If your doctor does recommend medications for your condition, they will typically be one of the following.
SSRIs are a class of antidepressants that increase the amount of serotonin that gets released in the brain. This can help reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, which are at high levels if you have stress response syndrome. Citalopram and fluoxetine are two of the most commonly prescribed SSRIs.
As with SSRIs, SNRIs are also antidepressants that can treat symptoms of anxiety and depression, which are common with stress response syndrome. SNRIs, such as duloxetine and venlafaxine, increase the amount of serotonin AND norepinephrine in the brain, creating a feeling of calmness rather than stress.
Unfortunately, while antidepressants can be helpful in treating stress response syndrome, they have unwanted side effects, including the following.
Talk therapy, also known as psychotherapy, is when you sit down with a professional psychologist and talk through your feelings. In addition to providing comfort, talk therapy can help you understand why you feel the way you do, which is an important aspect of overcoming stress disorder syndrome.
In addition to talk therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy is invaluable if you are dealing with stress response syndrome. Cognitive behavioural therapy is similar to talk therapy but more in-depth. Its purpose is to help you understand your body’s reaction to stress and how to manage your symptoms by walking through your feelings.
Exposure therapy is a form of therapy where you repeatedly expose yourself to the cause of your traumatic experience, little bits at a time. If your condition stems from a car accident, for example, returning to the scene of the accident and walking through what happened can be helpful. However, for certain instances, such as sexual assault, exposure therapy may not be the best option.
The saying that there is power in numbers is very true when it comes to stress response syndrome. Talking with others who are going through the same thing you are or who have overcome it can be very helpful in overcoming stress response syndrome.
If you or someone you love is struggling with stress response syndrome, it is important to seek professional help. Stress response syndromes are extremely difficult to overcome on your own, and you will need psychological guidance. If cognitive behavioural therapy and talk therapy are ineffective, you may require medications to return to your normal self.