Acute Stress Disorder - Demystifying the DSM-V
Okay, so you’ve already read my post on PTSD here, right? If not, go read it now! http://scriptshrink.tumblr.com/post/154606190310/demystifying-the-dsm-v-ptsd
Acute Stess Disorder is basically PTSD-lite. Much of the criteria are the same – I’ve bolded the big changes. The important thing is that there aren’t as many symptoms listed, and it has a much shorter duration.
First, you gotta have a trauma. A trauma is defined as being exposed to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence, in one or more of the following ways:
1. Directly experiencing it
2. Witnessing in person the trauma as it happened to someone else
3. Learning that the trauma happened to a close family member or friend. If the person dying or nearly dying is the traumatic event, it has to have been violent or accidental
4. The character has been repeatedly and excessively exposed to awful details of traumatic events. This is typically seen in first responders, police officers investigating child abuse, etc.
With Acute Stress Disorder, there are also categories of symptoms like PTSD, but you don’t need to have a specific number from each category – your character just needs nine or more in total.
Repeated, unwanted, inescapable and extremely stressful memories of the trauma
Children’s play may resemble aspects of the trauma
Frequent nightmares about or similar to the trauma
In children, the nightmares may not seem related
Dissociative reactions / Flashbacks - the character feels or acts as if the trauma is happening again. Flashbacks range from relatively mild to severe (to the point where the character loses all awareness of their present surroundings)
Children might reenact the trauma in play
Severe stress OR bodily reactions when the character is exposed to internal or external cues that are similar to the trauma
The character avoids (or tries to avoid) memories, thoughts, or feelings related to the trauma.
The character avoids (or tries to avoid) external reminders (such as people, places, objects, situations) of the trauma.
The character can’t remember an important part of the trauma
Altered sense of reality of their self or their surroundings
The character can’t experience positive emotions, such as happiness, or love
Arousal Symptoms (Not that kind of arousal.)
The character is irritable and angry
This can be seen through verbal or physical aggression towards people or objects
Hypervigilance - see my post here!
Exaggerated startle response - when the character is surprised, they flip out
Trouble sleeping / insomnia
All of these symptoms have to have been experienced by the character for between 3 days to 1 month after the trauma. If it lasts longer than 1 month, the character should be reevaluated for PTSD.
These symptoms cause the character stress and seriously makes their life more difficult.
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