Mixed Adaptive Disorder: Symptoms, Causes and Treatments

This disorder has to do with the difficulty in trying to overcome negative life events.

Throughout our lives we have to face all kinds of events, situations or experiences that can leave an imprint on our psychological health. In some people the impact of these vital moments is so strong that it can trigger a psychological condition.

This type of condition is known as mixed adaptive disorder.. The object of this article is to analyze this type of disorder, its symptoms, causes and treatment; as well as to indicate which are the main differences with the rest of adaptive disorders.

• Article related: "The 16 most common mental disorders".

What is the mixed adaptive disorder?

The mixed adaptive disorder, refers to a group of conditions that appear as a reaction to a stressful vital factor. Specifically, the person experiences a series of difficulties when trying to cope with a stressful or emotionally charged life event, marked by strong feelings of depression and anxiety.The feeling is marked by strong feelings of depression and anxiety.

These events or situations can range from the death of a loved one, relationship problems or a job layoff. Although any of these experiences can be distressing and stressful, some people have difficulty in handling certain stressors, which often leads to the onset of this type of psychological disorder.

In the case of the mixed adaptive disorder, the reaction of the person is much more severe than usual and can end up causing a very severe deterioration of the person. can eventually lead to a very significant impairment of social, occupational and/or academic functioning.. Furthermore, in order to be diagnosed as such, the symptoms must appear within three months of the onset of the stressor and must not last more than six months after the stressor has disappeared.

This reaction may appear in response to a single event, such as a serious traffic accident or the death of a family member, or following the experience of a stressful period of time such as serious marital or work problems.

Typically, mixed adaptive disorder has been associated with a high risk of suicide or suicidal behavior and with substance abuse. and with substance abuse. In addition, a mixed adaptive disorder that persists can develop into a much more serious mental disorder such as major depressive disorder.

What are the symptoms?

Although symptomatology can vary widely among people with mixed adaptive disorder, the clinical picture typical of this condition includes:

• Depressed mood..
• Crying.
• Low self-esteem.
• Withdrawn attitude.
• Suicidal ideations.
• Anxiety, worry, stress and tension.
• Agitation.
• Lack of concentration.
• Social, work or school deterioration.
• Insomnia.
• Continuous feeling of tiredness.
• Tremors and/or spasms.
• Palpitations.
• Physical discomfort such as general pain, stomach Pain or chest pain.

How is it different from other adaptive disorders?

In addition to mixed adaptive disorder, there are six other types of adaptive disorders that occur in response to a stressful experience. As mentioned above, mixed adaptive disorder is characterized by both feelings of depression and anxiety. However, the rest of the disorders have other specific qualities:

1. adaptive disorder with depressive mood.

In this case the patient tends to experience only feelings of sadness and hopelessness, as well as constant crying and anhedonia.

Adaptive disorder with anxious moods

The person feels pathologically overwhelmed, anxious and over-worried, and may even present concentration problems and memory lapses.

3. Adaptive disorder with behavioral disturbances

The symptomatology of this subtype is associated with an altered behavioral pattern, which usually involves problematic, risky and reckless behaviors.

4. With mixed disturbance of emotions and behavior.

Includes all of the above types. Feelings of depression, anxiety and behavioral problems.

5. Unspecified adaptive disorder

People with this diagnosis have symptoms not associated with the above disorders. They usually include physical symptoms and/or problems with friends, family, work and/or school.

What can be the causes?

As we mentioned at the beginning of the article, the cause or trigger of a mixed adaptive disorder is found in the occurrence or experience of a highly stressful factor.

In adults, this factor is usually related to economic, work or relationship problems, while in children and adolescents these experiences include school problems, family problems or separations. On the other hand, there are other experiences that can affect people of any age, such as the death of a loved one, the death of a family member or the such as the death of a loved one, life changes, accidents, catastrophes or medical conditions such as cancer.

However, these experiences are characterized by having a negative impact on any person. Therefore, there are a series of conditioning factors that modify the way in which a person faces a stressful situation and that favor the appearance of the mixed adaptive disorder. These factors include:

• Existing coping strategies.
• Economic conditions.
• Availability of social support..
• Occupational and recreational opportunities.

What is the basis for treatment?

Depending on the condition of the person diagnosed with mixed adaptive disorder, he/she may require short-term treatment or treatment over a somewhat longer period of time. Likewise, depending on the severity of the disorder, the intervention protocol for this diagnosis may include psychological therapy, medication or both.

1. Psychological therapy

Psychological therapy is usually the treatment of choice in a mixed adaptive disorder.The main objective of any type of psychological therapy is to help the patient to understand his or her situation and to develop coping skills to deal with stressful situations. The main goal of any type of psychological therapy is to help the person understand his or her situation and develop coping skills to deal with stressful situations.

The main types of therapy used in this disorder include:

• Family and group therapies.
• Specific support groups..
• Cognitive behavioral therapy.
• Brief strategic therapy.

2. Pharmacological therapy

The mission of the pharmacological therapy consists of decrease some of the symptoms of this disorder such as insomnia and physical symptoms of depression and anxiety.. Commonly used medications include:

• Benzodiazepines such as lorazepam and alprazolam.
• Non-benzodiazepine anxiolytics such as gabapentin.
• Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) such as sertraline or venlafaxine.