How anxiety and trauma are linked (and how you can heal)

An estimated 19.1% of adults in the U.S. have an anxiety disorder, along with approximately 7% of children between the ages of three and 17. Anxiety can have a variety of causes, ranging from biological to environmental. 

You might be wondering: Can trauma cause anxiety? Anxiety may not occur after every trauma or traumatic event. But for many people, anxiety disorders can develop after experiencing trauma. 

Understanding how anxiety and trauma are linked can help you recognize overlapping symptoms, address the root cause of your condition, and find the right support. 

How can trauma cause an anxiety disorder?

When you experience trauma, it can have a notable impact on your brain and biology. 

One recent study showed that trauma doesn’t just result in chemical changes in the brain — it can also cause physical or structural changes. Childhood trauma can also impact brain development.

Anxiety can develop from these neurological changes. Constant exposure to trauma-inducing situations or environments can increase sensitivity to threat or hypervigilance and increases risk for anxiety and substance use disorder. However, with time and proper treatment, the effects of trauma on the brain can be reduced or even reversed, alleviating the symptoms of anxiety.

Can anxiety cause trauma?

Typically, anxiety doesn’t cause trauma. But chronic anxiety — especially disorders that can cause severe symptoms — may lead to the development of symptoms that mimic short- and long-term trauma responses. Short-term trauma responses can include exhaustion, confusion, and dissociation. Long-term responses can include sleep disorders, fatigue, and depression. 

Signs and symptoms of trauma-induced anxiety

Everybody’s experience with trauma and anxiety are unique. 

Recognizing the most common symptoms of trauma-induced anxiety can be an essential milestone in understanding your personal mental health and deciding if therapy is right for you.

Here are some common signs and symptoms that someone with trauma-induced anxiety may experience:

• Feeling tense or on edge
• Being easily startled
• Having negative thoughts, about yourself or others
• Experiencing physical reactions such as rapid heart rate or sweating
• Isolating and withdrawing
• Having irregular sleep patterns
• Feeling irritable and agitated

How is trauma-induced anxiety different from other anxiety disorders?

In many ways, trauma-induced anxiety and other forms of anxiety disorders are similar. They often share many physical, emotional, and psychological symptoms.

Where trauma-induced anxiety differs most is the source. Many other anxiety disorders lack a single source. Anxiety disorders can develop due to a variety of biological and environmental factors.

Trauma-induced anxiety, though, only occurs after witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event. 

Long-term effects of untreated trauma-induced anxiety

Trauma-induced anxiety can decrease your day-to-day quality of life. 

You may experience on-going challenges like irregular sleep, nightmares, and fatigue.  

Over time, if trauma-induced anxiety is left untreated, its symptoms can grow in severity. Although each person may experience trauma and anxiety in a unique way, some of these long-term effects include:

• Substance use disorder
• Dissociation, which causes you to feel disconnected from your thoughts, surroundings, or identity
• Cardiovascular disease
• Gastrointestinal problems
• Emotional dysregulation

Is trauma-induced anxiety the same as post-traumatic stress disorder?

Trauma-induced anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are related but not exactly the same.

Both trauma-induced anxiety and PTSD may occur after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event but have different defining characteristics and symptoms.

• Trauma-induced anxiety is any anxiety that arises after trauma. It can involve general anxiety symptoms like constant worry and fear, along with physical symptoms. However, while some of its symptoms may overlap with PTSD, it doesn’t meet the same diagnostic criteria.
• PTSD is a specific mental health disorder that occurs after experiencing trauma. It includes various signs and symptoms, including flashbacks and intrusive thoughts. 

Both conditions can make it difficult to function in day-to-day life, but PTSD tends to be more severe and persistent than trauma-induced anxiety. 

Lifestyle changes to help you cope with trauma-induced anxiety 

There are healthy coping mechanisms that can help promote relaxation and increase awareness, which can help you manage or overcome the symptoms of trauma-induced anxiety. These include: 

• Regular exercise 
• Well-balanced diet 
• Mindfulness and self-awareness
• Meditation 
• Relaxation and stress-reducing techniques, such as breathing exercises
• Journaling
• Socializing and connecting with loved ones 
• Self-compassion
• Speaking back to unhelpful or harmful thoughts 
• Healthy sleep habits

Treatment for trauma and anxiety disorders

Lifestyle changes and adopting healthy coping mechanisms can help you manage trauma-induced anxiety symptoms. Combining these with professional mental health support can help you heal, too. 

Working with a licensed therapist can be an opportunity to learn more about the signs of emotional trauma in adults, heal from childhood trauma that may be the root of your anxiety, and manage symptoms of trauma-induced anxiety disorders. There are a variety of therapy types specifically designed for people who’ve experienced trauma. 

Among the most common are: 

• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): CBT encourages you to examine how your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors impact your mental health. With CBT, you may learn to challenge unhealthy thoughts or behaviors that you associate with the trauma you experienced.
• Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy: This is a noninvasive therapeutic technique created to treat PTSD and other trauma-related conditions. With the support of a therapist, you’ll use back-and-forth eye movements to help process traumatic memories and reduce the distress associated with painful thoughts and emotions.
• Psychodynamic therapy: With psychodynamic therapy, a therapist will help you identify how your past impacts your current thoughts and behaviors. Ultimately, you’ll discover how repressed emotions impact your ability to process trauma.

Medication can also help you manage the symptoms of trauma-induced anxiety. It’s best to speak with a psychiatrist to evaluate your options and find out if medication is right for you.

Find care with Rula

If you or a loved one are struggling with trauma-induced anxiety, know that help is available. Working with a trauma-informed therapist can help you manage symptoms and understand the root of your condition.

With Rula’s therapist-matching platform, you’ll be able to find a therapist who understands your needs and accepts your insurance. Once you’ve found the right therapist for you, you’ll be able to schedule your first appointment as soon as tomorrow.

Get started with Rula today