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Adjustment Disorder - Adjustment Disorder Symptom, Cause, Treatment
These responses manifest as emotional or behavioral reactions to an identifiable stressful event or change in the person's life.Adjustment disorder (AD) is a stress-related, short-term, nonpsychotic disturbance. An adjustment disorder occurs when a person develops affective (emotional) or behavioral symptoms in response to an identifiable stressor. The person displays either marked distress, or impairment in functioning.
Symptoms of Adjustment Disorder
If the symptoms last more than 6 months, the person may have another disorder, such as an anxiety or mood disorder. There are many symptoms of Adjustment Disorder are
- Hopelessness
- Sadness
- Crying
- Anxiety
- Worry
- Headaches or stomachaches
- Withdrawal
- Inhibition
- Truancy
- Vandalism
- Reckless driving
- Fighting
- Other destructive acts
- The symptoms do not represent Bereavement.
Causes of Adjustment Disorder
A person with adjustment disorder often experiences feelings of depression or anxiety or combined depression and anxiety. Listed below are some of the characteristics associated with adjustment disorders:
- A person with an adjustment disorder with depressed mood may have mostly a depressed mood, hopeless feelings, and crying spells.
- A person with an adjustment disorder with anxiety would experience anxious feelings, nervousness, and worry.
- Someone with an adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood would, obviously, have a mixture of anxious and depressed feelings.
- An individual with an adjustment disorder with disturbance of conduct may act out inappropriately. This person may act out against society, skip school, or begin to have trouble with the police.
- A person with an adjustment disorder with mixed disturbance of emotions and conduct would have a mixture of emotional and conduct problems.
Treatment of Adjustment Disorder
AD and other subthreshold syndromes can include substantial psychopathology, such as suicidal ideation and other behaviors that should be documented and treated. Psychotherapy (counseling) is the treatment of choice for adjustment disorders, Therapy usually will help clients:
- Develop coping skills
- Understand how the stressor has affected their lives
- Develop alternate social or recreational activities
- Your doctor also may recommend a short course of medications to help manage some of the symptoms associated with adjustment disorders.
- People with progressive or cyclic disorders (such as multiple sclerosis) may experience an adjustment disorder with each exacerbation period.
- Social support, which is usually an important part of self-help groups, can lead to a quicker recovery.
- If anxiety is your primary symptom, your doctor may prescribe an anti-anxiety medication such as alprazolam (Xanax) or clonazepam (Klonopin).
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