Acute stress disorder (ASD) refers to a new category of mental disorder in DSM-IV that is defined as a reaction occurring within 4 weeks following a traumatic experience and is characterized by dissociative symptoms, reexperiencing, avoidance, and marked anxiety or arousal. Contrasts with posttraumatic stress disorder, which either lasts longer or has a delayed onset.
Other definition:
Acute Stress Disorder refers to an Anxiety disorder that develops after a traumatic event with symptoms such as depersonalization, numbing, dissociative amnesia, intense anxiety, hypervigilance, and impairment of everyday functioning. People with this disorder may re-experience the event and desperately avoid reminders of the trauma. These symptoms arise within the month following the trauma and last from days to weeks. Acute Stress Disorder is a relatively new diagnostic category and was added to the fourth (4th) Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) in 1994 to distinguish time-limited reactions to trauma from the farther-reaching and longer-lasting post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Also, it is a severe reaction immediately following a terrifying event, often including amnesia about the event, emotional numbing, and derealization. Many victims later develop Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.
Acute Stress Disorder is also known as ASD. |
Glossary / Lexicon