Trauma- and stressor-related disorders
Adjustment Disorders
Adjustment disorders involve significant emotional or behavioural symptoms that begin after an identifiable stressor and cause distress or functional difficulty beyond what would be expected in the person’s context.
A response linked to a stressor
Symptoms may follow separation, job loss, serious illness, relocation, financial pressure or several continuing difficulties. They begin within three months of the stressor and are assessed in relation to its severity, cultural context, available support and the person’s functioning.
Presentations may involve depressed mood, anxiety, both, disturbed conduct or a mixed emotional and behavioural pattern. The diagnosis does not mean weakness, and not every difficult life period is a disorder.
Assessment
- The distress is disproportionate in context or there is clear impairment at work, school, home or in relationships.
- Symptoms are not better explained by another mental disorder, ordinary bereavement or prolonged grief disorder.
- After the stressor and its consequences end, symptoms should not continue for more than a further six months; an ongoing stressor can produce a persistent presentation.
Treatment and practical support
Psychotherapy can help organise the experience, strengthen coping and restore routines. CBT-informed work may address avoidance, persistent worry and unhelpful behaviour cycles.
Practical help with employment, finances, housing, caregiving, school or legal problems can be as important as psychological treatment. Children and adolescents may benefit from coordinated family and school support without punitive interpretations of distress.
When to seek help
Seek assessment when symptoms persist, disrupt functioning or lead to substance use or unsafe behaviour. Suicidal intent, serious self-harm, violence, psychosis or inability to care safely for oneself requires emergency help.