Adjustment disorders are common mental health conditions impacting up to one in five patients seeking outpatient mental health treatment. Often more than half of patients in hospital psychiatric consultation settings have adjustment disorders. Take a closer look at the causes of these stress-related mental health conditions.
Stressful events
Stress is the key cause of adjustment disorders. People develop adjustment disorders after experiencing stressful events or changes in their lives. These stressors may be negative, such as the death of a loved one or the separation or divorce of parents. However, they may also be positive such as the birth of a baby or buying a house. These events are stressful for most people, but the way people react to them varies. Most people can bounce back from stress within a few months. If stress persists beyond this time, it can trigger an adjustment disorder.
People may be more likely to develop an adjustment disorder if they experience several stressful events or changes at once. For example, someone may be more likely to develop an adjustment disorder if they lose their job during the process of moving house. They may manage stress normally if they lost their job at another time, but the compounded stress may impact them more severely and make returning to a normal mental state more challenging.
Poor coping skills
People who have strategies for coping with stress in their lives are less likely to develop adjustment disorders than people who aren’t sure how to process their stress and rebound from it. Some good coping strategies include journaling, socializing with family members and friends, exercising, and pursuing hobbies such as singing or knitting. Mental health professionals can help people develop coping strategies that work best for them.
Childhood stress
People who have experienced substantial stress during their childhood may be more likely to develop adjustment disorders than people who had much calmer experiences in their formative years. As with the stress that triggers an adjustive disorder, substantial childhood stress can come from many different events. Having parents that argued regularly, having parents separate or divorce, or moving to another city away from friends and family members may be stressful events that make developing adjustment disorders after later stressors more likely.
Other mental health problems
While other mental health problems don’t directly cause adjustment disorders, they may also make developing one more likely. For example, people with depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress may be more likely to develop adjustment disorders. Working with a mental health professional can help people with these conditions understand their mental health better and get an accurate adjustment disorder diagnosis early. Early diagnosis and subsequent treatment can help people process their grief and reduce the impact of an adjustment disorder.
Stressful events, which are often beyond a patient’s control, trigger adjustment disorders. While they can’t avoid the stress that causes an adjustment disorder, they can minimize the risks by taking care of their mental health. They can also take control of what comes next. if you feel you may have an adjustment disorder, contact the team at Horizon Counseling Services. We can provide a definitive diagnosis and deliver the cognitive-behavioral therapy that can help you regain control of your lives and overcome your symptoms.
