Acute Stress Disorder
Acute Stress Disorder can develop in a response to exceptional physical and/or mental stress and which usually subsides within hours or days.
Symptoms may include–
- Initial feeling of being dazed and confused.
- Withdrawal from surroundings and having low mood.
- Agitation or over-activity.
A person may feel -
- Anxious
- The heart may beat faster for a while.
- Sweaty and flushed.
- Unable to remember some or all the stressful event.
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
PTSD often caused by a single incident trauma, Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) arises as a delayed and/or prolonged response to a stressful event or situation. The symptoms to PTSD can take as long as a few weeks and up to 6 months to become noticeable.
Symptoms may include –
- Episodes of repeated reliving of the trauma in intrusive memories ("flashbacks") or dreams
- Persisting background of a sense of "numbness" and emotional blunting, detachment from other people, unresponsiveness to surroundings and avoidance of activities and situations reminiscent of the trauma
- Anxiety and depression are commonly associated with the above symptoms and signs, and suicidal ideation is not infrequent
- Excessive use of alcohol or drugs may be a complicating factor
A person may feel –
- Scared and avoiding places and things that remind them of the stressful event
- Jumpy and easily startled
- Finding it difficult to fall asleep and struggling with insomnia
- Rarely, if reminded of the stressful event, the response can be fear, panic and aggression.
Complex trauma
Complex trauma is usually interpersonal (occurs between people), and involves ‘being or feeling’ trapped. It is often planned, extreme, ongoing and/or repeated. Complex trauma generally leads to more severe, persistent and extreme impacts than single incident trauma. The impacts tend to be cumulative.
Symptoms may include–
- Chronic physical pains can develop such as headaches or stomach aches
- Sensitivity or hypersensitivity to sounds, smells, touch or light
- Dissociation - Detaching from the body. Spacing out or having a hard time concentrating, gaps in time and memory. Feeling like you are in a dream or like your life is happening to someone else
- Behaviour - high-risk behaviours, such as self-harm, unsafe sexual practices, and excessive risk-taking such as operating a vehicle at high speeds.
A person may feel -
• Angry and upset quickly and taking a long time to calm down or finding it very difficult to calm down
• Scared all the time and feeling anxious and depressed
• Like they want to self-harm
• It is hard to trust other people and form close relationships
• Shame and guilt
• Unhopeful or unable to plan for the future.
Intergenerational Trauma: A large body of evidence demonstrates that traumatic or stressful life events, on either an individual level (e.g. physical or emotional abuse) or collective level (e.g. genocide, war) may be transmitted across generations, through mechanisms such as telling and re-telling of stories and memories, thereby affecting children and grandchildren of the original victim/s (1). People known to be affected include First Nations people, such as the Aboriginal people of Australia and Canada and survivors of war or natural disasters.
Symptoms of Intergenerational Trauma are complex and not yet fully understood. However, impacts are thought to significantly impact upon behavioural issues, parenting practices and attachment, substance use and misuse, patterns relating to violence and aggression and poor physical health (2).