2
INTRODUCTION:
Although most disorders within the field of psychopathology rely upon some notion of stress, the notion of the stressor involved in any
particular disorder is often vague and ill-defined. Nonetheless, nosologies retain the notion of stress, and DSM-III even provides a
specific axis for classification of disorders in which stress is argued to occupy a dimensional existence, from "minimal" to "catastrophic",
and the presence of a defined stressor is argued to be a good prognostic sign. Hence, Brief Reactive Psychosis, which requires a
stressor, is argued to have a better prognosis than Schizophrenia, which has no stressor and has insidious onset. However, this
assumption that a stressor is a good thing may be questioned, and the notion that insidious development of a disorder is a bad thing
may reflect clinicians' ignorance rather than any real state of affairs. In some disorders, however, stress is clearly not a good prognostic
sign, but the reason for the disorder itself, as is the case with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD) has been argued to be a useful classification in dealing with stressors of an extreme nature,
specifically those of a "catastrophic" nature according to Axis IV of DSM-III and DSM-III(R). The stressor no longer forms part of the
background theory of a disorder, as is the case for many disorders, but forms the rationale for the disorder. However, it is argued by
some workers, largely those working with torture survivors, that the notion of stress-induced disorder is insufficient to deal with the
extent and nature of the trauma caused to a person by torture and repressive violence. This paper examines this debate.