When Stress Overwhelms: Understanding Acute Stress Disorder
Stress is part of life, but sometimes it goes beyond what our mind and body can handle. Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) is a short-term but serious response to trauma that often flies under the radar. If caught early, it’s highly treatable. But if left unaddressed, it can progress into long-term posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
What Is Acute Stress Disorder?
Acute Stress Disorder can happen after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event, like an accident, assault, natural disaster, or workplace trauma. While some level of shock is normal, ASD goes further: it disrupts daily life, relationships, sleep, and emotional stability.
Common symptoms fall into five areas:
- Intrusive memories or flashbacks
- Negative mood or detachment
- Dissociation or “feeling unreal”
- Avoidance of reminders
- Heightened arousal (like irritability or hypervigilance)
Importantly, these symptoms begin within three days and last up to one month. Beyond that point, clinicians, like your counselor, will evaluate for PTSD.
Why Early Support Matters
Research shows that about 50% of people with PTSD initially met criteria for ASD. Early intervention, like trauma-informed care, can help break that chain and support healing.
What Helps?
- Psychological First Aid & trauma-focused CBT: Education, anxiety management, and exposure work
- Wellness practices: Mindfulness, journaling, exercise, and social connection
- Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM): When appropriate, team or group-based debriefing in first responder or workplace settings
Strategize Your Success
You don’t have to navigate acute stress alone. At Tactical Counseling, we focus on:
- Building a sense of safety
- Normalizing stress responses
- Teaching grounding and calming strategies
- Helping clients reconnect to their support systems
We help clients create practical, individualized plans to manage stress, regain a sense of safety, and build resilience. Whether you’re facing a recent trauma or feeling overwhelmed by its ripple effects, we’ll work together to help you move forward with strength and clarity.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve experienced trauma and notice your stress lingering, you don’t have to “tough it out” alone. Acute Stress Disorder is not a weakness. It’s a real, treatable condition. With the right care, people often make a full recovery and build resilience for the future.