What Is the Relationship Between Trauma and Anxiety?

Understanding the link between trauma and anxiety is incredibly important because trauma-induced anxiety is becoming increasingly common. Having experienced trauma has a huge impact on a person’s likelihood of experiencing anxiety. This is because trauma is not simply a distressing or negative experience that one can move on from. Trauma is what happens when someone experiences something so emotionally distressing that it leaves a lasting emotional response that results in feeling depressed, extremely anxious, or numb. Additionally, studies have shown that trauma can change and affect brain activity. Stress from a trauma can impact the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex regions of the brain. This can cause an increase in stress hormones like cortisol, which increase anxiety.

What Are Trauma and Anxiety?

Trauma can take on many forms. Trauma can be defined as any event that is a threat to a person’s life or bodily/emotional integrity. This event can often result in lasting mental and physical effects. Traumatic events often, but not always, involve a threat to physical safety. Trauma can actually arise from any situation where a person feels overwhelmed, isolated, unsafe, or in danger. Examples of childhood trauma include physical or sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, exposure to domestic violence, parental alcohol use disorder or substance use disorder, death of a loved one, bullying, car accidents, natural disasters, and racial trauma.

Anxiety is a feeling of fear, dread, and uneasiness. Anxiety causes physical symptoms such as sweating, feeling restless or tense, having a rapid heartbeat, or other symptoms of tension in the body. It is important to remember that anxiety can be a completely normal reaction to stress. For example, you might feel anxious when faced with making an important decision. This type of anxiety can help you cope as it might make you examine all the options before you make the important decision. However, for people with anxiety disorders, the fear that comes from a stressful situation is not temporary. It can be so overwhelming that it negatively affects their life.

How Do They Interact?

Recent studies have shown that people who have experienced trauma have a high likelihood of experiencing anxiety in a variety of forms. These anxiety symptoms can manifest as an increase in generalized worry or panic attacks. Anxiety symptoms can also manifest as  avoidance of social situations that may be related to the trauma.

A chaotic, unstable, or unpredictable childhood environment is often experienced by a child who has faced trauma. The impact of this chaotic and unstable environment can have profound, lifelong effects. For example, a child growing up with abusive or volatile parents may become hyper-vigilant toward their parent’s moods so they can protect themselves from potential outbursts. (“Hypervigilance” is an elevated state of constantly assessing potential threats around oneself.) This child might grow up to feel they must constantly scan their environment and analyze other people’s reactions, which could lead to an anxiety disorder.

Read more about trauma and attachments in relationships.

What Are Common Symptoms of Trauma-Induced Anxiety?

How do you know if you are experiencing trauma-induced anxiety? It is important to remember that many of the symptoms of generalized anxiety overlap with the symptoms of trauma-based anxiety. Common symptoms of both generalized anxiety and trauma-based anxiety are lack of focus, depression, difficulty sleeping, and drinking or using drugs to avoid the stressful/anxiety provoking feelings and memories.

 How do you know if what you’re experiencing is trauma-induced anxiety rather than generalized anxiety? Taking a deep look may reveal that there are painful, traumatic experiences that are creating your anxiety responses. For example, if you have recently experienced a traumatic event and are now experiencing anxiety symptoms, there is a high likelihood that your anxiety is trauma induced. A traumatic event is the biggest element that separates a trauma reaction from classic anxiety. 

Another way to determine if the anxiety is trauma-induced is to figure out what direction the anxiety is coming from. The difference between trauma reactions and classic anxiety is where the distress comes from. If the distress is coming from events in the past, the anxiety is likely trauma-induced. If the anxiety is coming from events that could happen in the future, it is more likely generalized anxiety.  Additionally, if the anxiety is trauma-induced, the individual will often have intrusive memories or thoughts called “flashbacks” about a specific traumatic event. 

How Is Trauma-Induced Anxiety Treated?

It is important to know that trauma induced anxiety disorders are treatable by mental health professionals. If you think your anxiety may be rooted in childhood trauma, there are treatments available to you that can specifically help address your anxiety and your trauma. In trauma-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, you will be able to challenge unhelpful thoughts around traumatic events that have become internalized.

Another helpful form of therapy for trauma induced anxiety is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy (EMDR), which helps people process their traumatic memories. This happens by accessing those memories in a new context. The power that the traumatic memory has over the individual eventually lessens as treatment continues.

Additionally, Prolonged Exposure (PE) therapy has been found to be a helpful treatment for trauma induced anxiety. In this approach, your provider will assist you as you take small steps to imagine, process, and eventually experience your anxiety-provoking triggers.

Read more about trauma-informed therapy.

Knowing the link between trauma and anxiety is incredibly important as it will assist individuals in understanding the source of their anxiety as well as the best treatment options available.

Are you interested in finding help for trauma or anxiety? Reach out to myTherapyNYC to find out which of our therapists would be a good fit for you!

What treatment for trauma-induced anxiety seems the most promising to you? Join the discussion in the comments below!