Adjustment Disorders

Stressful or traumatic life events often happen without warning, which is why they can be so challenging to cope with. However, if months have passed and you’re still experiencing difficulty moving on or regulating your emotions, you may be struggling with an adjustment disorder.

Adjustment disorders can affect your thoughts, feelings and behaviors, making it hard to fulfill daily obligations, but they can be treated. Keep reading to understand the types of adjustment disorders, how they can impact mood and behavior and what treatment options are available.

Demystifying Adjustment Disorders: What You Need to Know

An adjustment disorder is an excessive reaction to stress or trauma that elicits strong emotions or behavioral changes. It can cause short-term symptoms that cause you to react more intensely than you typically would or the situation warrants. You may act recklessly or impulsively, which can disrupt school or work performance and interpersonal relationships.

According to Johns Hopkins Psychiatric Guide, between 3% and 10% of primary care patients struggle with an adjustment disorder. This condition can occur in both children and adults and can cause varying symptoms, depending on the person and type of adjustment disorder. Common symptoms include:

Those with an acute adjustment disorder may experience symptoms for 6 months or less, while a chronic adjustment disorder can cause disruptive symptoms for longer than 6 months.

Types of Adjustment Disorders

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders lists six subtypes of adjustment disorders, each with its own unique symptoms. These disorders include:

• Adjustment disorder with depressed mood. Symptoms include feelings of hopelessness, sadness and lack of pleasure in activities that used to bring joy. Individuals may also lack motivation to accomplish everyday tasks or experience suicidal thoughts.
• Adjustment disorder with anxiety. Individuals may feel persistently worried, anxious or overwhelmed and have issues with concentration or memory. For children, this disorder is usually associated with separation anxiety from a parent or guardian.
• Adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood. This disorder can produce a combination of anxious and depressed feelings.
• Adjustment disorder with disturbance of conduct. People with this disorder typically experience behavioral symptoms considered dangerous to society, such as acting destructive, rebellious or impulsive. Adults may drive recklessly, abuse substances or start fights, while adolescents may skip school or steal.
• Adjustment disorder with mixed disturbance of emotions and conduct. This disorder is associated with a mix of psychological symptoms, including depression or anxiety, and behavioral problems.
• Adjustment disorder unspecified. This last subtype is characterized by symptoms that don’t align with other types of adjustment disorders. It often includes physical symptoms, such as body aches, headaches, insomnia, heart palpitations or stomachaches, and can result in work, school or relationship issues.

What Causes an Adjustment Disorder?

Stressful or traumatic events can cause adjustment disorders, especially if an individual is having trouble coping with the aftermath. Common causes for adjustment disorders in adults include:

Children and adolescents may develop an adjustment disorder if they’re having problems at school, dealing with family issues or experiencing anxiety about their sexuality. Additionally, a situation doesn’t have to be traumatic to cause an adjustment disorder. Experiencing numerous life changes simultaneously can be difficult to deal with, causing you to feel stressed, overwhelmed or unsure of how to balance everything.

Certain triggers can also cause symptoms of an adjustment disorder. Triggers are reminders of a stressful or traumatic event that can elicit strong memories, affecting how you feel about that particular reminder. They’re often very personal and can include:

Triggers can produce mild or severe symptoms, depending on how intense and personal the stressful situation is.

Risk Factors for Adjustment Disorders

Adjustment disorders can affect anyone at any age, and there’s no way to tell who’s more likely to develop one within a group of people experiencing the same stressor. That said, the following factors may increase your risk of developing an adjustment disorder:

• Life experiences
• Personality and temperament
• Family history and genetics
• Prior mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder

Treatment Approaches and Coping Strategies for Adjustment Disorders

If you’re diagnosed with an adjustment disorder, several treatment options are available to help with symptom management. Therapy is a primary treatment, and you may be referred to a mental health professional. Therapists can offer emotional support and help you understand the root cause of your adjustment disorder so you can develop healthy coping skills and return to a normal level of functioning. Several types of therapy are available to help with adjustment disorders, including:

• Talk therapy
• Family or group therapy
• Crisis intervention
• Cognitive behavioral therapy
• Support groups

Medications can also help alleviate certain adjustment disorder symptoms, including anxiety, depression and insomnia. Benzodiazepines or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are commonly prescribed. For some people, a combination of therapy and medication may be necessary to overcome their disorder.

Additionally, there are steps you can take at home to cope with an adjustment disorder and alleviate unpleasant symptoms. These healthy coping strategies may include:

For most people, adjustment disorders usually don’t last longer than 6 months. That said, the sooner you begin treatment, the sooner you can recover and resume normal life.  Dr. Beau A. Nelson, Chief Clinical Officer of FHE Health counsels patients to “ask questions about their diagnosis, adjustment disorders may sound unusual but are actually quite common and effective treatment can show improvement for most people .”

Getting Help for an Adjustment Disorder

Coping with a major life change or stressful event can be difficult, but you don’t have to do it alone. FHE Health can help you process the event and understand how it’s affecting you, allowing you to move on in a healthy way. Contact us today to learn about our services and see which treatment option is right for you.