What is Acute Stress

There is a wide variety of reactions that one may experience during and after a critical or traumatic incident. Everyone’s reactions can be different. It is normal to feel distressed after witnessing or experiencing a critical incident that happens to you or the people around you.

Common Responses

• Feeling shocked, unreal, angry, or distressed
• Feeling stressed or anxious
• Feeling edgy or numb
• Worsened concentration
• Disturbed sleep or dreaming about the incident
• Losing interests in activities, routines, and experiences that you used to enjoy
• Having distressing memories or flashbacks about the incident
• Worrying about friends and family who are impacted
• Avoiding thoughts, memories, or activities that remind you of the incident

Most of these responses are helping our bodies and minds to cope with and make sense of the incident, as well as its impacts. Normally, these responses will improve over time after the incident.