Click Here
for more articles |
|
|
Recognizing Acute Stress |
by:
Trevor Dumbleton |
Copyright twozerozerofive Trevor Dumbleton
For those who are familiar with stress, there isdistinct difference between regular stress and acute stress. While regular stress ispart of daily life inhectic world of today, acute stress isaltogether different animal.
While stress is certainlyproblem, considering that it can causeweakening ofimmune system, problems with memory,inability to concentrate, and coronary disease, acute stress is something else. In fact, acute stress can actually causecomplete mental and physical breakdown.
Acute stress is caused bymost severe circumstances. It is oftenresult of threatened or actual death, serious injury, or some form of physical violation, such as rape. The person suffering from acute stress usually feels some sort of revulsion or horror atsight ofevent, or fromexperience ofevent. Then, after acute stress,person is at serious risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder. Furthermore,experience of acute stress can have lasting, even permanent effects uponperson who sufferedacute stress and they may not be able to fully adjust to life afterevent.
Acute stress is, at its core,form of psychological trauma, not unlike physical trauma. The person is in suchform of mental distress thatbrain is almost incapable of coping withstress and shuts down. The person who suffers from acute stress feelssense of numbness and they are unable to connect toworld outside. They cannot adjust toreality that surrounds them and they are, in many ways, stuck inmoment when they sufferedacute stress.
The problem with acute stress is that it createssort of loop tape inperson's mind, in which they continually replayevent over and over again without being able to stop it. The event is so completely consuming and yet so terrible thatperson who lived through it continues to think about it until they are almost incapable of moving beyond it.
Unfortunately,results of acute stress are not merely limited to inward issues. If left unchecked, acute stress can result in anxiety, inability to concentrate, post-traumatic stress disorder, and even nervous breakdown. Thus, acute stress is no minor issue. In fact, it must be dealt with quickly in order to prevent serious repercussions uponmind.
Ifsymptoms of acute stress, such as detachment, anxiety, orgeneral desire to avoid anything that may remindperson ofevent that causedacute stress, it is generally considered thatacute stress has transitioned into post-traumatic stress disorder. Thus, anyone who has suffered acute stress should seek some sort of treatment so that this does not happen.
The first form of treatment that comes to most peoples' minds is psychotherapy. The sessions withpsychiatrist or psychologist are at least familiar to people and they are very useful for treating acute stress. However, many people shy away from psychotherapy simply because ofstigma attached to it.
Another method of therapy for acute stress is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT is designed to help people deal with their problems or fears throughcombination of treatments all working towardsame goal. The cognitive portion of CBT treatsmind and helps it think differently about its memories. Then,behavioral portion helpsperson by exposing them to things that will force them to confront their fears or their problems. The behavioral method is already well known astreatment for phobias andcognitive treatment is familiar from psychotherapy. However, by combining these methods into one holistic treatment, CBT can bring about some very good results.
Another method for combating acute stress and its aftermath is through medication. Depending onsymptoms,doctor might prescribeantidepressant,anti-anxiety drug, or perhaps some other form of medication. However, people must be very careful with these mood-altering medications, since they do tend to alterway they think. Thus, people taking medications like these must monitor themselves and see how they react to their effects.
Overall, acute stress is manageable and it is treatable. And it should be treated, as it can lead to depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and evencomplete mental breakdown.
Though people may think that they are handling it fine, acute stress isform of mental trauma that is essentially comparable to physical trauma;more severetrauma,more severeresults onperson. Thus, anyone who has suffered from some traumatic experience that doesn't seem to want to go away should seek treatment as soon as possible. Though people can't change what happened to them, they can do something to preventmemories of it from taking over their lives.
Aboutauthor:
LowerYourStress.com: for everything to do with stress. Getfree ebook to help with your stress levels: http://www.loweryourstress.com/stress-book.html
Circulated by Article Emporium
|
|
