Adjustment Disorder
Adjustment Disorder: Understanding Emotional Responses to Stress
Adjustment disorder is a short-term emotional or behavioral reaction to a stressful life event. It occurs when coping mechanisms struggle to manage significant changes or challenges, resulting in intense emotional and behavioral difficulties.
Symptoms:
- Emotional upheaval: Feeling sad, hopeless, anxious, irritable, or overwhelmed.
- Behavioral changes: Withdrawing from social activities, neglecting responsibilities, or engaging in risky behaviors.
- Difficulty functioning: Stress disrupts daily life, impacting work, school, or relationships.
Causes:
- Stressful events: Major life changes like divorce, job loss, serious illness (self or loved one), relocation, or academic pressure.
- Accumulation of stress:Multiple stressors can overwhelm coping abilities.
Types of Adjustment Disorder:
- With depressed mood: Predominant symptoms include sadness, hopelessness, and withdrawal..
- With anxiety and depression: Mixed anxious and depressive symptoms.
- With anxiety: Excessive worry, nervousness, and physical signs (e.g., racing heart, sweating)..
- With disturbed conduct: Impulsive or reckless behavior affecting relationships or work.
- Unspecified: Symptoms that do not neatly fit into the above categories.
Diagnosis:
A mental health professional diagnoses adjustment disorder through psychological evaluation, considering the stressor, symptom severity, and duration.
Treatment:
- Therapy: Psychotherapy (individual or group) helps develop coping skills, address negative thought patterns, and improve emotional regulation.
- Medications: Antidepressants or anti-anxiety medications may be prescribed in some cases to manage symptoms.
Prognosis:
Adjustment disorders are typically temporary. With proper support and self-care, most people recover within six months of the stressful event.
For more information or to schedule a TOVA test, please contact our clinic today.
