Mental health articles

test for acute stress disorder There is no test that is used to diagnose acute stress disorder. The initial step is to rule out physiologic and other mental disorders causing the symptoms before reaching a psychiatric diagnosis. The psychiatric diagnosis of acute stress disorder
requires the following:
• The patient experienced or was confronted with an event that caused or
threatened serious injury or death to the patient or to another person that
left the patient in helplessness or intense fear.
• The patient avoids anything that may trigger reminders of the event.
• The patient reexperiences the event in flashbacks or becomes distressed
when reminded of the event.
• The patient has signs and symptoms of anxiety (see “Hallmark Signs and
Symptoms”).

• The patient has impaired function caused by signs and symptoms of anxiety
that are not related to a personality disorder or other mental disorder.
• The patient experienced three or more of the following symptoms during
or after the event:
• A loss of sense of identity (depersonalization)
• A loss of reality (derealization)
• Feeling dazed with reduced awareness of surroundings
• A lack of emotional responsiveness
• Unable to recall aspects of the traumatic event (dissociative amnesia)
• The patient experienced functional impairment for at least 2 days but not
more than 4 weeks within 4 weeks of the event.

Tags: acute stress disorder