Traumatic stress

Traumatic Stress is a common term for reactive anxiety and depression, although 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.