ASD and PTSD – Difference, Symptoms, Risks and Causes

ASD and PTSD are two adverse situations caused due to high trauma or continuous traumatic conditions. Therefore, these two diseases should be diagnosed in the early stage and should be taken care of properly. However, though they share some common symptoms, there are certain differences between them.

To learn more about ASD vs PTS, keep reading.

ASD, or acute stress disorder, results from a traumatic condition. Generally, ASD happens within 1 month of a traumatic incident. This includes deep and uncomfortable physical and mental reactions. These reactions lead to severe psychological and physical complications.

Any traumatic incident, such as a dangerous natural disaster, life-threatening incident, or unfortunate incident, can lead to ASD. Maximum time, people recover from ASD on their own; however, in some serious cases, they need professional help.

PTSD stands for post traumatic stress disorder, an adverse mental condition due to any stressful or traumatic incident. The condition is an extended part of acute stress disorder. If ASD remains for more than 1 month, it is considered PTSD.

Depending on the severity of trauma, PTSD lasts for 1 month to several years. However, with proper care and medication, the situation can be overcome. To control the problem, you must stop thinking about the traumatic situations as much as possible.

Therefore, these are some of the major points of ASD vs PTSD that you should know to differentiate between them. Further, let’s move on to the common symptoms of these diseases for more clarity.

Symptoms of ASD

The symptoms of ASD are as follows:

• Numbness
• Emotionless attitude
• Serious anxiety attack
• Concentration problems
• Flashback
• Dissociative symptoms
  
• Sleeping disorder
  
• Avoiding people or places associated with trauma
• Arousal symptoms such as aggressiveness

The symptoms of ASD are different from PTSD. ASD symptoms are comparatively less severe and can be cured more quickly. However, the symptoms of PTSD are quite adverse and intense. Let’s have a look at them.

Symptoms of PTSD

The potential symptoms of PTSD are as follows:

• Intrusive memories or flashbacks of traumatic events
• Nightmares and fearful dreams
• Emotional imbalance or feeling of guilt
• Avoiding gatherings of people
• Avoiding talking about traumatic incidents
• Hopelessness
• Lack of interest in daily work or activities that once enjoyed
• Memory issues
• Getting frightened easily
• Suicidal tendencies
• Unable to maintain close relationships

The main cause of both ASD and PTSD is traumatic incidents. Therefore, this may include:

• Death of a near one
• Accidents
• Natural disasters
• Traumatic brain injury
• Threat of life
• Assault
• Sexual humiliation
• Domestic abuse

The risk factors for acute and post traumatic stress disorder are the same. They are presented below:

• Witnessing a traumatic event
• Having different mental conditions
• Having past conditions of traumatic disorder
• Gender, as females are prone to ASD and PTSD
• Younger kids and teens are more prone to develop its symptoms

There are clinical evaluations available to diagnose ASD and PTSD. These include the processes like:

• Finding out the history of the traumatic incident
• Finding out the reaction of hyperarousal
• Checking the duration of symptoms
• Checking whether the symptoms are affecting daily activities
• Examining previous medical conditions

Therefore, the diagnosis process involves active question answering and evaluating the patient’s behaviour to get to the root of the disease. Afterwards, doctors will work on reducing the stress caused by the trauma, depending on the severity. Then, they can give therapies and medications accordingly.

1. Therapy for ASD

The treatment for ASD includes therapies, medication and certain home remedies. These are as follows:

• CBT or Cognitive Behavioural Therapy: CBT is an effective strategy for understanding the behaviour and mood of a person. To treat ASD, experts use CBT to understand the past incident with the present behavioural conditions.
• Mindfulness Therapy: Experts will also suggest stress-managing exercises, meditation and techniques. You may also need to do breathing exercises for better results. Hence, as PTSD is more severe than ASD, it needs advanced treatment.

2. Therapy for PSD

The treatment procedure for PTSD are as follows:

• CPT or Cognitive Processing Therapy: CPT is a type of CBT that includes changing unpleasant thoughts. Therefore, it reduces the severity of traumatic incidents and relieves you from pain.
• Stress Inoculation Therapy: The therapy is notable for removing extra stress and thus helps to manage excessive stress due to traumatic memories.
• Prolonged Exposure Therapy: Prolonged exposure therapy exposes the traumatic incident of a person to a safe space. Afterwards, experts help to manage the triggering conditions and suggest better ways to deal with traumatic anxiety.

3. Medication for Both ASD & PTSD

• Anti-depressants: For both ASD and PTSD, experts suggest anti-depressants. Along with psychotherapy, proper dosing of anti-depressants is necessary for treating post traumatic disorder. Apart from these treatments, you can also opt for some natural remedies for optimum help.

4. Home Remedies for Both ASD & PTSD

• Relax Your Body and Mind: To heal your brain from traumatic experiences, you can relax your body and mind by indulging in meditation, yoga, and other relaxing exercises.
• Don’t Consume Alcohol or Drugs: You may think alcohol or drugs are quick ways to forget traumatic incidents; however, this is not true. Instead, these can worsen the situation and cause other physical ailments.
• Sleep Properly: Sleep disruption can cause behavioural issues such as irritability and edgy behaviour. Further, sleeplessness causes adverse effects on your traumatic visions. Therefore, you must maintain a proper sleep cycle to get over the situation quickly.
• Maintain Healthy Diet: A healthy diet can boost the brain's functioning. In addition, it further helps in the secretion of positive hormones that will help you to fight against depressive moods. Foods that contain omega 3-s can be a great help for mental health.

ASD and PTSD involve fearful thoughts about traumatic incidents. Therefore, you should visit a doctor if you face this issue frequently. Further, depending on the severity of the symptoms, you need to opt for treatment. Sometimes, suicidal thoughts are very prevalent; therefore, as soon as you experience this, seek professional help.

Acute and post traumatic stress disorders are severe; however, they can be managed if identified properly. By maintaining the below-mentioned tips, you can prevent the adversity of the symptoms of ASD and PTSD:

• Seeking help at the very beginning of coming of disturbing thoughts
• Going for medical help for serious issues
• Treating previous psychological disorders beforehand
• Working on your behaviour with the help of professional assistance for better results
• Preparing yourself first if you are going to involve in a high-risk job

Hopefully, the discussion has brought out a comprehensive idea of ASD vs PTSD. The treatment process can be determined depending on the severity and duration of symptoms. However, the risk factors are similar and can be diagnosed with proper clinical help. As the symptoms can get really worse sometimes, it is advisable to seek clinical assistance as soon as possible.