Stressor:

That which induces a stress response

Stress response:

Physiological reaction to perceived threat which creates changes in our body, our thinking, our emotions and our behaviours.

Acute stress:

This is an intense, fast and normal stress response to a specific event/situation where there is perceived threat to self or others. It is a normal reaction to an abnormal event. Acute stress is used to describe the stress-response within the first 4 weeks after and event. People will usually recovery naturally from acute stress, but recovery can be assisted with effective psychological resilience strategies.

Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS)

This is another way of describing acute stress.

Chronic stress:

A sustained and prolonged stress response; which can cause wear and tear on the body and mind. Chronic stress could occur from a sustained acute stress response or from ongoing, cumulative, lower level persistent stress or duress.

Acute, post-traumatic and chronic stress have a wide range of signs and symptoms; these usually negatively impact our physical wellbeing, cognitions, emotional state and behaviours.

Mental health crisis:

An acute reaction to an event (or series of events) whereby there is:

Significant physical or emotional distress,
Psychological impairment, or disturbance in people’s usual functioning.

The characteristics of a mental health crisis include:

A disruption to a person’s state of psychological balance and
Failure of their usual coping mechanisms.

Brief Psychological First Aid

A single, short (10-15minutes) immediate intervention with an individual experiencing an ongoing mental health crisis (significant distress); with the aim to facilitate stabilisation, mitigate immediate distress, foster simple self-care behaviours & encourage social links for recovery.