Question

a nurse in a community clinic is collecting data from a client who is distressed and reports being unable to sleep following a neighborhood fire several days ago. the client has hypertension, tachycardia, and is diaphoretic. the nurse should identify that the client is experiencing which of the following types of stress? acute stress post - traumatic stress disorder (ptsd) episodic acute stress chronic stress

Explanation:

To determine the correct stress type, we analyze each option:

• Acute stress: Occurs shortly after a stressful event (like a neighborhood fire) and causes immediate physical responses (hypertension, tachycardia, diaphoresis) and psychological distress (inability to sleep). The client’s symptoms following the recent fire align with acute stress.
• Post - traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): Requires symptoms to persist for more than a month and involve re - experiencing, avoidance, etc. The client’s symptoms are recent (several days ago), so PTSD is not yet indicated.
• Episodic acute stress: Involves frequent acute stress episodes. There’s no indication the client has repeated acute stress events.
• Chronic stress: Lasts for a long time (e.g., months - years). The client’s stress is from a recent event, not long - term.

Answer:

A. Acute stress