What is an Adjustment Disorder?

Adjustment disorder arises when a person must cope with a specific stressor or traumatic event. Although everyone responds to emotionally distressing experiences in numerous ways, one may have developed an adjustment disorder if it is found that the reaction to the event is intense and overwhelming.

Both children and adults can suffer from adjustment disorders, which is typified by a set of symptoms less severe than those of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms all can come together to cause an overly negative reaction in people with adjustment disorders when they experience a particularly difficult life event.