Adjustment disorder
- Emotions or behaviors in response to a stressor that occur within 3 months of onset
- Symptoms last ≤ 6 months following resolution of the stressor.
Differential diagnostics
| Acute Distress Disorder | Adjustment Disorder | PTSD |
|---|
| Type of Stressor | Severe | Mild/Moderate | Severe |
| Time between stress and symptoms | Few days to maximum 4 weeks | Up to 3 months | Not fixed; sometimes years |
| Duration of symptoms | Maximum one month | ≤ 6 months after end of stressor | > 1 month |
Treatment
- First-line: psychotherapy with or without adjunctive pharmacotherapy
- Trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing
- Pharmacotherapy
- SSRIs, SNRIs (e.g., venlafaxine)
- Prazosin: for nightmares
- Benzodiazepines should generally be avoided due to the risk of misuse and lack of evidence supporting the benefits.