PTSD vs ASD
All of the people in the planet are created equally by the Divine Creator. Upon growing up or upon being born, doctors are able to diagnose a disease. But how about personality disorders? How about special children such as autistics and children with ADHD? How about being so-called crazy? How about personality disorders?
Two conditions which do not fall among the questions above are PTSD and ASD. Let us compare both of these two psychological conditions.
PTSD, or Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, is a condition which is caused by a trauma. These traumas can be in the form of violence that range from minutes up to years such as; enduring a war, a calamity, or abuse for years by an employer. It is still unknown why some people develop PTSD while others do not. Eight to ten percent of men develop PTSD while 18-20 percent of women develop it as well.
Symptoms of PTSD include: anxiety, frequent irritability, or violent behavior. There is also a flat effect among severely traumatized individuals. PTSD can be triggered with several things that will let them remember the incident such as; sounds, smells, places, people, and much more. Symptoms may come and go for days, months, or up to a year. Some symptoms ascend or descend in severity in a span of time. There is no cure for PTSD, but it can be improved over time through family support, psychotherapy, and certain medications such as antidepressants. Prolonging the treatment of PTSD will bring more physiological problems to a lot of people.
ASD, or Acute Stress Disorder, is a new diagnosis which was added during 1994 for people to differentiate this condition from PTSD. ASD is also a trauma-related condition similar to PTSD. In fact, it is said to be a variation of PTSD because it has the same symptoms such as; flat effect, being anxious and restless, and so on and so forth. But what separates ASD from PTSD is that ASD symptoms are immediate and occur in a very short span of time lasting from 48 hours up to 30 days. If a person having ASD is experiencing the said symptoms for more than a month, then it is clear that it is not ASD but PTSD. That is the best and most notable difference.
Another major difference between PTSD and ASD is that the symptoms of ASD are more in dissociation. Dissociation is defined as being out of consciousness which can be partial or full. Dissociative symptoms include; amnesia which is temporary, depersonalization (in which the person detaches himself or herself from the incident that is traumatizing), and derealization (the person detaches himself from the environment he or she is living in). Unlike in PTSD in which symptoms recur, in ASD, symptoms are constant and more dissociative.
Diagnosis of ASD includes an interview and assessment of the symptoms including the length in which it has happened. ASD is treated with medication such as anti-depressants. Psychotherapy is also employed. According to experts, ASD can lead to PTSD if not treated immediately. PTSD is more difficult to treat than ASD because prolonging the condition makes the experience more unforgettable to the patient.
Summary:
1.PTSD is a traumatic condition which is diagnosed in patients having more than a month of its symptoms while ASD is diagnosed in those who experienced it from a period of days up to less than a month.
2.ASD symptoms are more dissociative compared to PTSD.
3.PTSD is more difficult to treat than ASD.