Stress-related disorders encompass a range of conditions that are directly related to or exacerbated by high levels of stress. These disorders can significantly impact a person’s mental and physical health. The most common types are:  

1. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) 

When a person has been exposed to any of several forms of trauma, they may develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which is a mental health disease condition. It may be violent or horrifying death situations, combat, accidents, natural calamities, physical or emotional abuse, or any event that causes feelings of terror, numbness, or dread. 

Symptoms of PTSD 

Intrusive Thoughts: PTSD sufferers frequently have recurrences of some memories about the awful incident which they would have preferred were wiped from memory. 

Nightmares: Sleep problems are common as a result of upsetting dreams about the trauma the person experienced. 

Flashbacks: It includes experiencing a sudden life-changing event that causes certain emotions which makes one feel as if they keep re-living that dreadful moment. 

Avoidance Behaviours: After trauma, a person may want to eliminate the emotional pain or trauma by keeping away from people, places or situations that could trigger the recollection of that traumatic event. 

 
What are the causes of PTSD? 
PTSD can develop after a very stressful, frightening or distressing event, or after a prolonged traumatic experience. Types of events that can lead to PTSD include: 
serious accidents, physical or sexual assault abuse, including childhood or domestic abuse, exposure to traumatic events at work, including remote exposure, serious health problems, such as being admitted to intensive care, childbirth experiences, such as losing a baby, the death of someone close to you, war and conflict, torture, etc 
 

2. Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) 

Reactive Attachment Disorder is a syndrome in children more so who have witnessed improper nurturing or even gross abuse particularly in their tender years. It is a disorder that manifests itself in loss of the normal expected bonds which a child should be making with their guardians. 

What are the symptoms of reactive attachment disorder? 
 
Symptoms of reactive attachment disorder are unique to each child. Common symptoms among infants and young children with RAD include – not showing positive emotions, like comfort, love or joy when interacting with others, avoiding eye contact and physical touch, expressing fear or anger by throwing tantrums or frequently showing unhappiness or sadness, trying to find things in their environment that they can control, which makes them likely to break rules. 

What causes reactive attachment disorder?  
Currently there is no exact cause for children diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder. Studies suggest that there could be several factors that contribute to a child who doesn’t form a bond with their caretakers including: the child feels abandoned or alone, the child’s basic needs are not being met, the child fears that they are in danger, the child doesn’t know who to trust, the child’s needs are only being met some of the time, particularly if they don’t know when to expect their caregivers to reward or console them.  

 
If a child’s physical and emotional needs are not being met, they are at risk of developing RAD. 

3. Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder (DSED) 
Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder (DSED) is a condition that frequently develops in children subjected to early neglect and maltreatment. Unlike RAD, children with DSED go to the other extreme and are hyperactively affectionate and trusting with novel adults, hence placing themselves in potential danger of abuse. 

Symptoms of DSED 

Overly Familiar Behaviour with Strangers: Children suffering from DSED do not seem to grasp the conceptual aspects of stranger danger and have a propensity to seek out and interact with unknown people. 

Lack of Hesitation in Approaching Unfamiliar Adults: This absence of wariness around new persons is particularly dangerous as it may put the child in harmful circumstances. 

DSED can occur in children for the following reasons: 

Absenteeism of a mother or the caregiver within the first few years of life, absence of warmth and affection and emotional development, abuse or neglect, absence or frequent change of a single primary caregiver, trauma in childhood, child in foster care or an orphanage. 

These factors can cause problems to children in seeking a deeper connection with other individuals. Socialisation is usually easy; hence children appear indiscriminately friendly or socially high-spirited. 

4. Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) 
 
Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) is a short term reaction that some people have to stressors which occur within a month after a traumatic event. The most important distinction is that although PTSD is diagnosed after one month of experiencing the trauma, the diagnosis of acute stress disorder is made in case of exposure to trauma and development of same-day or initial month symptoms of PTSD. 

Symptoms of ASD 

Anxiety: Patients suffering from ASD experience fear and anxiety over the norm, especially over reminders of the traumatic incident. 

Dissociation: The blurring of psychological or physical feelings with an extension of a stress event, as in ASDs. 

Hypervigilance: Humans may get too vigilant towards any possible danger even when there is no threat. 

 
What causes ASD?  
It’s unclear why people respond differently to traumatic events. One theory focuses on “fear conditioning.” Fear conditioning occurs when the body reproduces a fear response with respect to certain things that remind one of a horrific event. For instance, say you got into a car accident and there was fast food in your car and it’s night time, the next time you smell fast food while it’s dark outside, there’s a strong possibility that your body will feel the same fear it did when you were involved in the car crash even though all you are doing is breathing in the scent of food.  

5. Adjustment Disorder 
 
Adjustment Disorder is a stress-related condition that arises in response to significant life changes or stressful events, such as moving to a new city, losing a job, or experiencing the end of a relationship. It is characterized by an inability to cope with the stressor, leading to emotional and behavioural changes. 
 

What are the signs and symptoms of adjustment disorders? 

The behavioural adjustment disorder’s symptoms exhibit themselves differently to every individual and change in accordance with the type. Some of the symptoms are: depressed mood, nervousness (fear with tremor), getting overwrought and hurried in actions, light-headedness and compromised attention span, irritability towards hectic schedules and inter-personal relationships, adaptation to pain and internal discomfort 

 
What causes Adjustment Disorder?  
Adjustments disorder is caused by the efforts of an individual to cope with a stressor or a traumatizing event. Stressor is defined as an event or a situation that disturbs a person. 

Stress is something that affects every person in a varying degree of concentration. Sometimes it happens that when everything comes at once, people don’t have time for themselves because too much is happening. Not all stressors are due to some trauma. It could centre around some very good development in one’s life.