Adaptive Disorder

[How to communicate after a contentious divorce...]

I came across this for the first time and thought id share if anyone has knowledge or if it gives some interest.

key features


    Ending of a relationship or marriage
    Losing or changing job
    Death of a loved one
    Developing a serious illness (yourself or a loved one)
    Being a victim of a crime
    Having an accident
    Undergoing a major life change (such as getting married, having a baby, or retiring from a job)
    Living through a disaster, such as a fire, flood, or hurricane

A person with an adjustment disorder/stress response syndrome develops emotional and/or behavioral symptoms as a reaction to a stressful event. These symptoms generally begin within three months of the event and rarely last for longer than six months after the event or situation has ended. In an adjustment disorder, the reaction to the stressor is greater than what is typical or expected for the situation or event. In addition, the symptoms may cause problems with a person's ability to function; for example, the person may be have trouble with sleep, work, or studying.

An adjustment disorder/stress response syndrome is not the same as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD occurs as a reaction to a life-threatening event that occurs at least 1 month after the event, and its symptoms tend to last longer than in adjustment disorders/stress response syndromes. By comparison, adjustment disorders/stress response syndromes rarely last longer than six months.

Ive used the word trauma a lot, and I think that this admustment disorder fits what I went through more closely. https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/mental-health-adjustment-disorder#1

The cure? therapy and benzodiazpeines. I tried neither so maybe why it took a bit longer than 6 months, but despite that, I was far better in 6 months than the first couple which were the worse. Just hope this helps anyone else like it would have me at the time.

[Cromwell]

I came across this for the first time and thought id share if anyone has knowledge or if it gives some interest.

key features


    Ending of a relationship or marriage
    Losing or changing job
    Death of a loved one
    Developing a serious illness (yourself or a loved one)
    Being a victim of a crime
    Having an accident
    Undergoing a major life change (such as getting married, having a baby, or retiring from a job)
    Living through a disaster, such as a fire, flood, or hurricane

A person with an adjustment disorder/stress response syndrome develops emotional and/or behavioral symptoms as a reaction to a stressful event. These symptoms generally begin within three months of the event and rarely last for longer than six months after the event or situation has ended. In an adjustment disorder, the reaction to the stressor is greater than what is typical or expected for the situation or event. In addition, the symptoms may cause problems with a person's ability to function; for example, the person may be have trouble with sleep, work, or studying.

An adjustment disorder/stress response syndrome is not the same as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD occurs as a reaction to a life-threatening event that occurs at least 1 month after the event, and its symptoms tend to last longer than in adjustment disorders/stress response syndromes. By comparison, adjustment disorders/stress response syndromes rarely last longer than six months.

Ive used the word trauma a lot, and I think that this admustment disorder fits what I went through more closely. https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/mental-health-adjustment-disorder#1

The cure? therapy and benzodiazpeines. I tried neither so maybe why it took a bit longer than 6 months, but despite that, I was far better in 6 months than the first couple which were the worse. Just hope this helps anyone else like it would have me at the time.

[once removed]

i felt that thats what i had in the aftermath. then again, i also just dont do change, or rejection that well.

id wake up, and within about thirty minutes, go straight into an anxiety attack that could last for hours. when it would subside, crying jags usually followed. i was fearful, about what, im not even sure, and the ruminating never stopped. i was running on anxiety and adrenaline for a lot of the relationship, so looking back it doesnt much surprise me.

passionflower did wonders for me.

[I Am Redeemed]

UBPDh was diagnosed with this disorder about two years after we lost custody of our kids (for the second time). Looking at the criteria for it, it certainly fits on the surface, but I believe his stress response was part of the underlying personality disorder, because his behavior was pretty much par for the course when faced with an extremely stressful situation- and it wasn't as if he was at baseline before the kids were taken away.

I think I more than likely had this disorder myself. After we lost custody of our kids I was pretty much in a state of shock, anxiety and near panic for about six months. During that time I also lost my dad, and about two weeks later I ended up in the mental health crisis center.

I lost the ability to function- he lost his job, we lost our kids, and we lost our house, all while Dad was in the hospital and then the nursing home, and then passed away. Looking back I have wondered why I didn't do things differently- I just seemed to coast along and "exist" for those months. I couldn't work, I couldn't sleep, I couldn't think.

It didn't help that I was still in a relationship with a pwBPD, at least undiagnosed BPD. He was also sporadically using drugs and was extremely paranoid and delusional.

Eventually I was able to pull out of it and find a job, then a better job, which I have held for over three years now. Since my r/s with uBPDh ended, I feel that my symptoms are more post-traumatic than adjustment disorder.

Redeemed