Acute Stress Reaction

An acute stress reaction is a common, and even expected, reaction to life-threatening traumatic events.  The Los Angeles wildfires have been a highly traumatic event for survivors, as well as their family, friends and witnesses. The whole city has been impacted. It is likely that we will cope with a variety of emotional and mental health problems in the aftermath.

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Stress can amplify preexisting mental heath and medical conditions that may add to the burden of coping with recovery from the wildfires. A broad range of emotional reactions are to be expected.

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Symptoms of Acute Stress Reaction (ASR)

Acute stress reaction occurs immediately after a traumatic event and is the body's short-term response to extreme stress. Symptoms are grouped into emotional, cognitive, physical, and behavioral categories:

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Emotional Symptoms

• Intense fear, anxiety, or panic

• Shock, disbelief, or emotional numbness

• Feeling as if it's "surreal" or "unreal" (feeling like you're in a movie)

• Guilt, shame, or helplessness

• Anger or irritability

• Apathy or disgust

• Emotional reactivity

• Emotional outbursts or crying spells

• Emotions that do not match situation (laughter, disregard, no emotion)

Cognitive Symptoms

• Intrusive thoughts or flashbacks

• Difficulty concentrating or confusion

• Disorientation or poor decision-making

• Memory lapses or forgetfulness

• Distractibility

Physical Symptoms

• Increased heart rate and rapid breathing

• Chest tightness

• Feeling of "heartbreak" heaviness in chest

• Gulp in throat

• Sweating, chills, or hot flashes

• Shaking, dizziness, or fainting

• Muscle tension, fatigue, or headaches

• Digestive disturbances like nausea or upset stomach

• Sleep disturbances (insomnia or nightmares)

• Changes in eyes (vision problems, appearance of wide eyes, flat gaze or "10 mile stare")

Behavioral Symptoms

• Freezing (incl. inability to act, inability to focus on daily tasks)

• Hypervigilance (scanning or checking for threats, paranoia)

• Exaggerated startle response

• Avoidance of reminders of the event or other stressful triggers

• Social withdrawal or clinging to others

• Agitation or pacing

• Frantic efforts to manage others or the situation

Duration of Symptoms

• Immediate symptoms: Develop within minutes to hours post-trauma

• Acute phase symptoms: Last for 24 hours to 1 month

• If symptoms persist beyond a month, it may develop into Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

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