Stressful events in life often cause emotional and behavioral problems, but on some individuals these events have a very profound effect and cause a deterioration of normal daily functions. Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) is a condition in which a person experiences certain symptoms related to stress. If these symptoms are not identified and treated quickly, the person risks developing PTSD.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Treating Acute Stress Disorder with Therapy and Medication
Step 1. Try exposure therapy
Exposure therapy has been shown to be effective enough to treat people with stress-related disorders. With this technique, the patient is asked to remember and visualize the traumatic event in as much detail as possible.
- At the same time, techniques are used that help the patient relax and force him to focus on the positive aspects of the trauma, providing him with positive thinking patterns.
- The goal of this technique is to change the patient's behavior in his tendency to avoid any object that reminds him of the trauma. The patient is reassured that the stimulus he is so afraid of will not cause anything tragic.
Step 2. Try immersion and relaxation therapy
This is a technique based on exposure to the aftermath of a tragic event. Think of the traumatic images that are often relived and stuck in the mind. Imagine them in great detail.
- This can also be done by using a projector that displays images of the traumatic event. Try to relax while focusing your attention on these images using relaxation techniques (e.g. deep breathing). Think of a single image, focus on its details as you try to relax.
- Once you are able to do this, work on a different image or other aspect of the trauma until you feel relaxed. You need to get out of this emotional agony as soon as possible.
Step 3. Consider trying EMDR therapy
EMDR therapy (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, i.e. desensitization and reprocessing through eye movements), involves exposure to images and objects that the patient intentionally avoids because he associates them with the traumatic event.
- In this technique, the patient moves his eyes rhythmically while focusing his mind on the memories of the traumatic event. The therapist tells the patient to move his eyes from left to right or guides the gaze with the movement of a finger while the patient thinks about the tragic events of the past.
- The patient is then asked to turn his attention to pleasant memories. This allows him to feel relaxed and less distressed when he thinks about the traumatic event.
Step 4. Talk to your therapist about the different cognitive therapies that might help you
Cognitive therapies aim at the systematic examination of thoughts and the change of dysfunctional attitudes and distorted interpretations that appear as a side effect of the traumatic event.
- These therapies are mainly aimed at allowing people suffering from stress to trust and behave normally, as they did before the traumatic event. This is important, as many people give up their faith and trust in others after going through a traumatic experience.
- If you feel guilty for surviving such a tragedy while others have not, look for the reason. It could be that God has decided to bless your life for some good reason. He wants you to do good to others, especially those who are weak and who face the same problem as you. You are strong because you survived and you have a responsibility to help those who are fragile and scared. Try to live your life to the fullest.
Step 5. Attend group therapy
These are individuals who have the same problems and share their feelings, experiences, points of view, and the impact of stress on their lives. They learn to console each other, how to overcome feelings of guilt and anger.
- When many people with the same problem get together, the first feeling they get is that of company. They no longer feel alone and isolated. They learn to build empathic relationships with others and to help each other.
- They are advised to write their feelings on paper and then share them to evaluate their validity. They help each other in giving positive meaning to their ideas and feelings.
Step 6. Try family therapy
When something bad happens to a single member of a family, the whole family unit suffers a lot. It is good to treat the whole family as a unit and to teach the various members how to deal with the problem effectively.
It is the responsibility of the whole family to help the sick person. Take care of the person in need and talk to them. Go for a walk together. Take a family outing. Offer the person your full support. Eventually, it will come back to life
Step 7. Talk to your doctor about medications that might work for you
Some medications may be effective in reducing the occurrence of nightmares and panic attacks, in alleviating the severity of depression, and in preventing the patient from reliving the trauma.
If necessary, anxiolytics and antidepressants can be taken with a doctor's prescription from a psychiatrist. They will help reduce physical and mental agony, allowing the patient to effectively face life's challenges
Part 2 of 3: Promote Relaxation and Positive Thinking
Step 1. Relieve stress with relaxation techniques
Relaxation techniques prove to be very effective in many ways. They reduce the symptoms of stress and help relieve some ailments caused by tension, such as insomnia, headaches, hypertension, pain following surgery and many others.
- If you suffer from the aforementioned ailments, which are caused or enhanced by stress, relaxation techniques will help you feel better and recover. Simply focus on your breathing, heart rate, and muscle tension, then try to keep them regular.
- You should breathe deeply, meditate and learn the progressive muscle relaxation technique.
Step 2. Meditate
This technique requires the person to shift all his concentration within himself, ignoring all the stressors in his life and finally reaching a modified state of consciousness.
- In this process, the person moves to a quiet place, focuses on a single sound, allowing their mind to detach from all the worries and thoughts of everyday life.
- Choose a quiet place, sit comfortably, free your mind from all thoughts and concentrate on the image of a candle, or on a word like "relax". Practice this technique every day for 15 minutes to half an hour.
Step 3. Do self-teaching exercises
This type of therapy involves the person doing psychotherapy to themselves. If you are the person who needs therapy, teach yourself to behave rationally and effectively. Tell yourself it's not wise to spend the whole day worrying about something that happened in the past.
- The past is no longer, the future is not yet, so focus on the present. Live the present moment to the fullest. Someday you have to get rid of stress; it could happen after a few months or years, but why not do it now?
- You have to find yourself as soon as possible. Don't let anyone take control of your life. Don't let another person make you feel pathetic. This is your life. Do what you think is best for you, what makes your life healthy and worth living.
Step 4. Create a support network
This is very important because symptoms related to acute stress disorder can often lead to extreme discomfort, numbness, and dissociative characteristics that require support. Here are some ways to get support.
- Share your feelings with people who are close to you and understand you. Try to explain to them how you feel, as half the problem is solved by talking freely to someone who has empathic listening skills.
- Often the images, the flashbacks, the memories, the illusions create a lot of agitation and therefore problems in sleeping, in staying calm and so on. In these cases, a strong support network can help you overcome these situations better.
Step 5. Write down your negative thoughts
Write down any disturbing thoughts that come to mind. You can write them on paper. Be aware of the thoughts that are stressful to you. By the time you identify what is causing you stress, you are already halfway through your battle.
- Instead, work on positive thinking. Once you have identified negative thoughts, try to replace them with positive, more rational thoughts.
- This is one of the most effective ways to get rid of negative thoughts.
Part 3 of 3: Understanding Acute Stress Disorder
Step 1. Recognize the symptoms of acute stress disorder
ASD usually includes a combination of the following symptoms.
- Development of anxiety after exposure to a traumatic event.
- Feeling numbness, detachment, apathy.
- Absence of emotional reactions.
- Reduced awareness of the surrounding environment.
- Derealization, depersonalization.
- Dissociative amnesia.
- Increased arousal.
- Continuously relive the traumatic event.
- Avoid associated stimuli.
- Guilt feelings.
- Difficulty concentrating.
- Nightmares.
- Difficulty sleeping.
- Hyper-vigilance.
- Depressive episodes.
- Impulsive behavior, heedless of risks.
- Neglecting basic health and safety.
- Suicidal thoughts.
- Outbursts of anger.
Step 2. Know that stress can cause physical problems
Stress puts too much pressure on the body and mind. It has negative effects on physiological functions and can cause many health problems, such as the following:
- Ulcers
- Asthma
- Insomnia
- Headache
- Migraine
- Muscle aches
- Hypertension
- Coronary heart disease
Step 3. Recognize the factors that can play a role in the development of stress
There are some factors that can increase the chances of developing acute stress disorder.
- Biological factors. Stress triggers changes in the brain and leads to physical reactions. Continuous arousal, high levels of cortisol and norepinephrine cause damage to certain areas of the brain, for example the amygdala and hippocampus. Damage to these areas causes other dysfunctions, such as anxiety, memory loss, concentration problems, etc.
- Personality. People feel they have little control over their lives and tend to develop stress quickly.
- Childhood Experiences. People who have had negative experiences in childhood easily develop stress.
- Social Stress. People who have little or no support tend to be more affected by stress.
- Trauma severity. The duration, proximity, and severity of the trauma also play a role in the development of stress. More severe trauma causes more stress.
