A traumatic divorce can actually result in symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Divorce stress syndrome. People who feel depressed use alcohol or drugs to help them feel better.   They are clearly in trauma and experience the same array of symptoms that professionals now describe as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Life after divorce. Divorce can be really stressful and stress leads to depression. Divorce-Related Stress . By Alicia Li. The breakup of a marriage is always a trialing period in a woman's life - however new medical evidence shows just how detrimental divorce is for your health. Stress is an undesirable and unpleasant state usually manifested through actions, the way of thinking, and feelings. Chronic stress cannot be ignored and must be dealt with to avoid decreased immune function, which lead to worsening of ill health and cause debilitating symptoms. Divorce certainly fits the bill as a major psychiatric disturbance characterized caused by exposure to ongoing traumatic stress. Both during and after a divorce, your anxiety levels can shoot to mind-scrambling levels. Because of the emotional toll divorce takes on both parties, there can be such symptoms as depression, insomnia, physical pain, panic attacks, and illness. You feel unstable, you feel lost, and your body is reacting by kicking your fight or flight mechanism into high gear. Decreased contact affects the parent-child bond and according to a paper published in 2014, researchers have found many children feel less close to their fathers after divorce. Dana divorced her husband in 1999. ... You may also be more susceptible to certain conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and various physical conditions. Acute stress disorder (ASD) is a short-term condition that can develop after a person experiences a traumatic event. Divorce usually means children lose daily contact with one parent—most often fathers. “Acute stress disorder is a normal response to a really shocking traumatic event. One study showed that men tend to suffer more during a divorce because they are emotionally unprepared for divorce. These all pile up in the mind of the person getting a divorce and can cause what is known as divorce stress syndrome. Her ex, Jim, had been diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder and he has made Dana and their children’s lives miserable for 14 years. Feb 29, 2012 3:36pm. Extreme nervousness is a common symptom of divorce stress syndrome. Similar to … Divorce and stress. Divorce Stress Syndrome. If you’re going through a divorce it’s very normal and appropriate to have several weeks where you can’t sleep, cry a lot or feel frightened, angry, hurt, sad, scared, and abandoned,” says Jerilyn Ross , M.A., L.I.C.S.W., author of Triumph Over Fear. 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