Traumatic Stress is a commonly used term describing reactive anxiety (and depression). It is not a medical term and is not included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). What is popularly referred to as Traumatic Stress is covered in DSM-IV by Adjustment Disorders. This includes subtypes of anxiety, depression and disturbance of conduct and combinations of these symptoms. It results from events that are less threatening and distressing than the events that lead to posttraumatic stress disorder.
The condition presents in a manner similar to posttraumatic stress disorder, but lacking the same intensity.
Famous quotes containing the words traumatic and/or stress:
“There’s a quality of legend about freaks. Like a person in a fairy tale who stops you and demands that you answer a riddle. Most people go through life dreading they’ll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They’ve already passed their test in life. They’re aristocrats.”
—Diane Arbus (1923–1971)
“It is not stressful circumstances, as such, that do harm to children. Rather, it is the quality of their interpersonal relationships and their transactions with the wider social and material environment that lead to behavioral, emotional, and physical health problems. If stress matters, it is in terms of how it influences the relationships that are important to the child.”
—Felton Earls (20th century)