Post-traumatic stress disorder affects about 13 million people in the United States. Not everyone who experiences traumatic events will develop PTSD, though their trauma still affects them. But those who develop PTSD find it difficult to live their lives without constant disruptions from intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, and other symptoms.
If someone you care about is struggling with symptoms of PTSD, it’s natural to feel confused, especially since many symptoms overlap with general anxiety. Understanding how PTSD differs is a crucial first step in getting the right help. If you are worried about someone whose life is being derailed by untreated PTSD, consider reaching out to Rockland Recovery Behavioral Health’s Boston PTSD program.
Is PTSD an anxiety disorder?
If you have heard PTSD referred to as an anxiety disorder, there’s a reason for that. At one time, it was classified that way. However, PTSD is no longer considered an anxiety disorder.
In 1980, PTSD was first identified as a diagnosable condition in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM). That year, the DSM-III was published, classifying PTSD in the anxiety disorder category because it was recognized that it shares several overlapping symptoms with anxiety disorders.
PTSD was first classified as an anxiety disorder in the DSM-III (1980) and remained so through the DSM-IV. In 2013, the DSM-5 reclassified PTSD under Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders to reflect its unique causes and symptoms beyond anxiety.
Feature
PTSD
Anxiety
Cause
Triggered by a specific traumatic event
May be due to various factors (genetics, environment, stress)
Main Symptoms
Flashbacks, nightmares, avoidance, hypervigilance
Excessive worry, restlessness, irritability, muscle tension
Onset
Typically occurs after a traumatic experience
Can develop gradually or suddenly without trauma
Duration
Symptoms last >1 month and cause significant distress
Often chronic but can vary widely in duration
Triggers
Reminders of the trauma
General life events, stressors, or no obvious trigger
Diagnosis
Requires history of trauma and specific symptom clusters
Based on persistent worry and physical symptoms
Treatment Options
Trauma-focused therapy (e.g., EMDR, CBT), medication
CBT, medication, mindfulness, lifestyle changes
Prevalence
Less common; specific to trauma survivors
More common across general population
Feature
Cause
PTSD
Triggered by a specific traumatic event
Anxiety
May be due to various factors (genetics, environment, stress)
Main Symptoms
PTSD
Flashbacks, nightmares, avoidance, hypervigilance
Anxiety
Excessive worry, restlessness, irritability, muscle tension
Onset
PTSD
Typically occurs after a traumatic experience
Anxiety
Can develop gradually or suddenly without trauma
Duration
PTSD
Symptoms last >1 month and cause significant distress
Anxiety
Often chronic but can vary widely in duration
Triggers
PTSD
Reminders of the trauma
Anxiety
General life events, stressors, or no obvious trigger
Diagnosis
PTSD
Requires history of trauma and specific symptom clusters
Anxiety
Based on persistent worry and physical symptoms
Treatment Options
PTSD
Trauma-focused therapy (e.g., EMDR, CBT), medication Requires history of trauma and specific symptom clusters
Anxiety
CBT, medication, mindfulness, lifestyle changes
Prevalence
PTSD
Less common; specific to trauma survivors
Anxiety
More common across general population
What type of disorder is PTSD?
As a trauma/stressor-related condition, PTSD is the direct result of shocking, invasive, dangerous, or frightening events. PTSD symptoms are unpredictable and disruptive, making normal daily functioning challenging.
The human brain has evolved to react immediately to danger, but with PTSD, memory of danger is as real to the brain as actual danger. Thus, it will recognize the memory as an event happening now and trigger fight, flight, or freeze—a response that is very stressful when it happens suddenly and apparently for no reason.
Symptoms of PTSD fall into four basic categories:
- Re-living: Flashbacks are memories of trauma being reenacted while someone is awake, as if they were still happening. Re-living, or re-experiencing, can also manifest in nightmares and terrifying, intrusive thoughts.
- Reactivity: A heightened state of arousal creates a highly reactive state that can be present 24/7 in some people. This state manifests as hair-trigger tension, angry eruptions, insomnia, and an overactive startle response.
- Avoidance: These symptoms can include emotional detachment, apathy, numbness, memory loss, depression, anxiety, and guilt.
- Mood and cognition: Signs of mood and cognitive challenges can include fearful thoughts, extreme negativity, hopelessness, lack of interest in once-loved things, and emotional distortion where feelings don’t match triggers. In many cases, this category of symptoms will involve loss of memory of the traumatic event or events.
Someone can exhibit all four categories of symptoms, or just one or a few. They can be constant or sporadic, and thus, compensation of any kind is difficult.
What is the difference between PTSD and anxiety disorder?
It’s easy to recognize that some PTSD symptoms overlap with symptoms of anxiety disorders. Anxiety symptoms that can also be PTSD symptoms include:
- Restlessness
- Hypervigilance
- Irritability
- Intrusive, fearful thoughts
- Insomnia
- Impaired concentration
The critical distinction between the two conditions is that whereas anxiety’s chronic worry and intrusive thoughts are triggered by unspecified possible future occurrences, with PTSD, they are tied to specific past events in which life or safety were in danger.
Contact Rockland Recovery Behavioral Health to enroll in a Boston PTSD program
At Rockland Recovery Behavioral Health, our individualized treatment plans reflect our understanding of PTSD as a trauma-related condition. We understand the difference between PTSD and anxiety disorders. Distinguishing the symptoms of anxiety from those of PTSD is critical to providing a high level of care that directly addresses the triggers, underlying causes, and symptoms of each.
In our PTSD treatment program, trained clinicians provide evidence-based therapies such as eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Call 855.520.0531 or reach out by completing our online form today to get help for yourself or a loved one who is struggling with PTSD, a treatable condition.