Prevention Traumatic events cannot usually be foreseen and, thus, cannot be prevented. In addition, some symptoms of acute stress disorder result from biochemical changes in the central nervous system, muscles, and digestive tract that are not subject to conscious control. Depersonalization A dissociative symptom in which the patient feels that his or her body is unreal, is changing, or is dissolving. Derealization A dissociative symptom in which the external environment is perceived as unreal. Dissociation A reaction to trauma in which the mind splits off certain aspects of the trauma from conscious awareness.
Dissociation can affect the patient's memory, sense of reality, and sense of identity.
In the context of ASD, a disastrous or life-threatening event. In Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed. In Current Diagnosis 9, edited by Rex B. Conn, et al. Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc., 1990. In Surgery On Call, edited by Leonard G. Gomella and Alan T. Lefor.