Adjustment disorder
Adjustment disorder occurs when your body and brain have an extreme reaction to stress, affecting your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Typically, when something stressful happens, most people can adjust their thoughts and feelings and "bounce back." However, if you have adjustment disorder, you may feel "stuck" in your stress response and have difficulty returning to your usual self.
For some, the symptoms of adjustment disorder overlap with those of clinical depression. For example, you might feel hopeless and lose interest in activities you normally enjoy. Because of this, adjustment disorder is sometimes referred to as "situational depression." It is recognized as a stress-response syndrome, defined as a maladaptive reaction to a specific stressor.
Symptoms:
Feeling hopeless
Sadness
Crying
Anxiety (feeling nervous and worried)
Headaches
Body aches or sore muscles
Feeling irritable (quick to anger)
Heart palpitations (skipped or racing heartbeat)
Avoiding loved ones and activities you usually enjoy
Not taking care of important tasks, such as paying bills
New and out-of-the-ordinary dangerous or destructive behavior, such as fighting or reckless driving
Changes in appetite (loss of appetite or overeating)
Problems sleeping
Feeling tired or without energy
Using alcohol or other drugs more than usual
For many people, adjustment disorder symptoms usually end once the source of stress ends, or you adjust to it. But if you're not back to your usual self in 6 months, you may have what's called chronic adjustment disorder. This is an ongoing condition that you may need some extra support to manage.
Booth, S. (08.02.2024). Adjustment Disorder (Stress Response Syndrome).Retrieved from: https://shorturl.at/fXwXC
Zelviene, P., & Kazlauskas, E. (2018). Adjustment disorder: current perspectives. Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment, 375-381. Retrieved from:https://shorturl.at/aTLAY