Acute Stress Disorder
Brett D. Klawitter
Liberty University

Abstract
Acute Stress Disorder or ASD is a phenomenon that happens during or shortly after a traumatic event. It can affect people in many different ways but it is usually debilitating for up to one month. There has been controversy and stigma attached to the diagnosis of ASD since it was first added to the DSM-IV. This paper will illustrate the definition of ASD, the diagnostic guidelines, the difference between ASD and Acute Stress Reaction (ASR), symptoms and effective treatments, the impact of ASD and the coping skills needed to successfully get through it, and a biblical story and perspective about stress disorders. What is ASD and is it an appropriate response to …show more content…

All the diagnosis describe basically the same criteria just in different world perspectives. The differences however include such things as; ASD was developed for prognostic value while ASR is more of a descriptive. Another difference is the setting and events in which they are based. This can also be affected by a clinician experiencing ongoing stressors. For a diagnostic criteria to be met for ASD there must be a stressor where ASR is subjective. The fourth difference is timeframe, ASR may happen in the same timeframe during or after an event up to the three days but symptoms may dissipate at that point. Finally ASR criteria does not require functional requirements (Isserlin et al, 2008). “ASR as a transient reaction that can be evident immediately after the traumatic event and usually resolves within 2–3 days after a trauma. The ICD description of ASR includes primarily dissociative (daze, stupor, amnesia) and anxiety (tachycardia, sweating, flushing) reactions” (Bryant et al, 2011, p. 803-804). While ASR can become an ASD diagnosis, similar to ASD can manifest into PTSD, it does not always and falls in a different category. ASR does not meet all the requirements for a clinical diagnosis. In our text, Traumatic Stress: The effects of overwhelming experience on mind, body, and society, the