Understanding The Symptoms of Acute Stress in Adults
What is an Acute Stress Reaction?
An Acute Stress Reaction is a surge in difficult, often overwhelming, feelings following a painful, frightening or traumatic event.
Acute stress symptoms can last for days or weeks and is a normal reaction to extremely stressful or traumatic circumstances.
When a person is given the support and assistance they need, acute stress reactions decrease over time and resolve.
However, if a person does not receive the support they need, these symptoms can become chronic and develop into Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Common Symptoms of Acute Stress and Trauma
Physical Symptoms:
Muscle Tension, headaches, stomach aches, fatigue, racing heart, problems sleeping, loss of appetite, increase in blood pressure, dizziness.
Emotional Symptoms
Shock, numb, overwhelmed, depressed mood, high levels of anxiety or chronic anxiety, anger, irritability, helplessness, hopeless.
Mental Symptoms
Poor Concentration/ can’t think, rash decisions, confusion, dissociation, shut down.
Spiritual Symptoms
Loss of faith, heart feeling shut down, difficulty feeling connected to others or to the deepest part of your own essence.
These symptoms are similar for children, teens and adults.
Symptoms of Grief and Loss
Feelings of Grief and Loss are likely to follow a a trauma.
This is especially true when we have suffered personal loss
or we know someone who has.
Symptoms of Grief & Loss overlap with symptoms
for acute stress, anxiety and depression and include:
- Disbelief, shock, & feeling numb
- Sadness/ Depressed Feelings
- Anger and Irritability
- Confusion / Feeling that nothing makes sense
- Overwhelm
- Hopelessness/ Helplessness
- Guilt
Healing from grief and loss can be hard, but it also leads to a
deepening of love and to new growth