PTSD Acute Vs Chronic: Where Do You Lie On The Trauma Spectrum?

We all have gone through some kind of traumatic event at some point in our lives. But when trauma stops drawing its limits in your mind, that probably means you might be suffering from PTSD. PTSD, which has had many names over the years like soldier’s heart or shell shock has its own spectrum. Affected individuals develop PTSD acutely or chronically depending upon the traumatic event they experienced and we are here to discuss exactly that: PTSD Acute vs Chronic. We’ll help you understand where you lie on its spectrum if you are indeed suffering from PTSD and also understand the difference between acute and chronic PTSD in the process.

Understanding Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

PTSD refers to the cognitive impact or a mental health condition that can occur after a person experiences or witnesses a traumatic event. It is characterized by a range of different symptoms including but not limited to trauma flashbacks, avoidance behavior, changes in thought processes, and impulsive emotional reactions. The types of trauma that we experience can be divided into different categories to better categorize their symptoms and help you understand the difference between acute and chronic PTSD and between the debate of PTSD acute vs chronic.

Read More: Facts About PTSD: Understanding The Hidden Struggles Behind Trauma

Acute PTSD

Also called Acute Stress Disorder, it happens due to a single and isolated traumatic event such as a car accident that can sometimes lead to significant and complex symptoms and even PTSD. It usually occurs three months before the actual event. Symptoms like these are on the rise in Acute PTSD:

• Hyper-arousal: Things like hypertension, difficulty sleeping, and irritability are all dialed up a notch.
• Excessive flashbacks: This is what we can call re-experiencing the traumatic event persistently
• Avoidance behavior: You start developing social anxiety and deliberately try to avoid situations that you might think are even remotely related to the traumatic event.
• Cognitive issues: Poor performance at work or school, bad memory, and excessive mood swings are just some of the ways you are cognitively impacted when suffering from PTSD.

Examples of acute traumatic events include but are not limited to:

• Physical abuse
• Sexual abuse
• Natural disasters
• Mass shootings
• Extremist attacks
• Car Collisions
• Plane Crashes
• Major injuries

Chronic PTSD

When it comes to the debate of PTSD acute vs chronic, this is the most debilitating one. Chronic PTSD is defined by repeated and prolonged traumatic events such as child abuse and witnessing someone’s trauma, for example, one-half of your parents’ domestic abuse by the other half. It can be diagnosed if the related symptoms have been raging for more than three months. The symptoms that are associated with chronic PTSD can be used to understand the debate of acute PTSD vs chronic PTSD properly. The symptoms described under acute PTSD are more persistent and severe when the affected individual is suffering from chronic PTSD.

Examples of chronically traumatic events include but are not limited to:

• Domestic abuse
• War or combat
• Community violence
• Chronic Mental and physical conditions
• Neglect, starvation, or deprivation
• Homelessness

Read More: Can PTSD Cause Hallucinations? Exploring The Link Between Trauma And Perception

Delayed Onset and Complex PTSD

Another way we can understand the debate of chronic PTSD vs acute PTSD is to compare it to other types of PTSD that are not that common in the diagnoses of PTSD in affected individuals. Complex PTSD is essentially chronic PTSD times 10x as when the trauma is prolonged and repeated, for example, keeping someone in captivity and torturing that someone, it leads to symptoms like having difficulty with self-perception, distorted beliefs about the self or others, and problems with emotion regulation. On the other hand, delayed onset PTSD is essentially PTSD that is delayed by six months or so after a traumatic event, which can make it difficult to diagnose. Hopefully, this information also helps understand the debate of PTSD acute vs chronic.

Identifying Which Type of PTSD You Are Suffering From

This will help pinpoint what type of treatment you would need to treat PTSD. If you know what type it indeed is and you can correctly identify the symptoms, you will know what treatment will be suitable for you. A mental health professional can help you with that with a bit more convenience and assign treatment accordingly. The types of PTSD described above are evenly spread across the trauma spectrum, with acute being the least debilitating, chronic and by proxy complex being the most debilitating ones with delayed onset coming somewhere in between. You can check out which one you are suffering from by looking at the table below:

PTSD Acute Vs Chronic Differences

When it comes to PTSD acute vs chronic differences, they might help you understand the differences in a bit more detail by looking at the table below which relates to an incident or repeated incidents:

Comparison of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Acute vs Chronic In Terms Of Research

Empirical comparisons of post-traumatic stress disorder acute vs chronic show that women are more likely to develop both acute and chronic than men. Additionally, people who have a considerable lack of social support and excessive exposure to trauma are at a higher risk of developing either form of PTSD. Pre-existing mental conditions like anxiety or depression can essentially exacerbate the symptoms of PTSD acute vs chronic.

Read More: Supportive Psychotherapy: Strengthening Resilience And Emotional Well-Being

PTSD’s Impact On Everyday Life

When it comes to the severity of PTSD acute vs chronic, the latter is the one that is most dangerous and therefore is the most capable of hindering the everyday life of the affected individual. This can make it difficult for them to achieve a good everyday routine and do things like finding it difficult to sleep, holding down a job, driving themselves to and from the grocery store, or even being around other people. This is because symptoms of PTSD can be distressing and disruptive to daily life, and they can interfere with work, relationships, and overall functioning making treatment extremely paramount for survival!

Treating PTSD Acute vs Chronic

Leaving PTSD of any kind untreated can be extremely consequential. Chronic PTSD and even the acute one require longer treatment that may involve medication in addition to treatment methods like EMDR and other psychotherapy. For your convenience, these are listed below:

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT):

Perhaps, instead of asking questions like, is PTSD a chronic illness, you should go for CBT to treat both PTSD types. CBT essentially is a type of “talk” therapy that addresses negative thought patterns by resolving them through bringing awareness to them. A similar one called Cognitive processing therapy (CPT), is specifically designed for addressing distressing thoughts and beliefs that relate to trauma.

Exposure response prevention (ERP):

A type of CBT, this one puts affected individuals in situations or near triggers related to PTSD, so gradually these situations and triggers can lose their power in initiating symptoms related to the mental condition. Although the experience can be uncomfortable, studies suggest it is effective.

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR):

EMDR is considered to be a highly effective form of treatment even when it comes to PTSD acute vs chronic. This one uses eye motion and tapping techniques to positively process targeted memories and change the stressor response related to them.

Read More: The Most Common Stages Of Psychosis

Conclusion

Now we are at the end but much wiser than what you were about the debate of PTSD acute and chronic. We believe that you now have answers to questions like, “Is PTSD a chronic illness?”, “What are the symptoms: acute PTSD vs chronic PTSD?” and “What is the difference between acute and chronic PTSD?”. In addition to that, you know which kind of treatment might be suitable for you. If you are confused about that, the experts at Solid Foundation Psychiatry can help find a suitable treatment like psychotherapy or medication management for PTSD or medical conditions like Psychosis, Depression, or Anxiety.