Adjustment Disorder is a mental disorder that emerges as a psychological response to a particular stressor or group of stressors. Usually, these stressors are severe in character and can cause extreme emotional or behavioral turbulence for the affected individual. The symptoms of this disorder, however do not meet the specific criteria of any other anxiety disorder. The primary feature of adjustment disorder is that the affected individual has a maladaptive response to common life stressors such as marriage, childbirth, divorce or losing a job and it occurs within three months of exposure to the stressor. Such an individual is unable to function normally in daily life and may exhibit severe reaction to specific stressors.

In adjustment disorder, the individual’s maladjustment tends to lessen or vanish when the stressor subsides or when the individual learns to adapt to the stressor. In case, the symptoms continue to persist after a period of six months, it is diagnosed as another mental disorder. Adjustment disorder can be acute or chronic and is found to be twice as common in women as in men.

Stressors:

Stressors that cause adjustment disorder are not extreme events and may even appear to be minor. Some of the most common stressors include unemployment, break-up with boyfriend/girlfriend, moving to a new school, poor academic performance and bereavement.

Stressors from Unemployment: Work related issues can be extremely stressful for individuals, particularly the loss of employment. Management of stress due to unemployment requires a great deal of coping skills and strength. Individuals who have previously earned a good living tend to be more severely affected by the loss of employment. The frequent restructuring of businesses and cost-cutting policies of various companies have also resulted in the transformation of flourishing communities into depressed areas. The long-term psychological consequences of unemployment can be great. The impact of chronic unemployment can crush an individual’s self confidence, image and self-worth, particularly in affluent societies.

Stress from Bereavement:

Almost one-third of all adjustment disorder cases are the outcome of the sudden and unexpected death of a loved one. The initial reaction of an individual in such cases is disbelief which is replaced by realization accompanied with feelings of grief, sadness and despair. Grief over the loss of a loved one is a natural process that helps the survivors to mourn their loss and move on with their own life. Some individuals, however, are unable to grieve and may develop prolonged depression even after the grieving process should have ended long back.