Your Anxiety Might Be Trauma Hidden in Disguise
When you’re battling anxiety, worry, fear, and concern about all the things that could go wrong are the top menu items of the day. Anxiety takes no prisoners capturing your mind and body presenting itself as repetitive and persistent thoughts, heart racing, tight chest, shortness of breath, digestive upset, and the list goes on with seemingly no escape.
For many, anxiety is just something you live with. Something you cope with. Some will choose to try out a number of things to address their anxiety such as meditation, prayer, breathing exercises, reading a book about anxiety, journaling, trying herbal supplements, or turning to the “school” of social media. Some will choose to medicate with anti-anxiety medication. And some will just choose to grit their teeth silently judging themselves for not being strong enough to overcome their anxiety.
When you have persistent anxiety, you may have told yourself this is who you are. You may have also been told by your parents or others in your past that you have a nervous personality or you’re too sensitive or you’re just hard-wired this way.
But what if there was another explanation for your anxiety?
Trauma Is Often the Underlying Cause of Anxiety
In some situations, trauma-related anxiety is very obvious. You get into an accident (minor or major) and from that point forward, you feel anxious being in a car.
You experience getting bitten by a dog and now you’re uneasy and anxious around all dogs.
You survived a fire in your home and now the smell of smoke fills you with fear and anxiety.
When Trauma is More Subtle
Sometimes trauma is a more layered story. You have anxieties that don’t appear to have a direct explanation. You may struggle making friends or feeling like you can be really yourself with the friends you have. At work, you’re constantly nervous about making mistakes or not doing a good enough job. You find yourself walking on eggshells in your romantic relationships even where there doesn’t seem to be any reason to.
When you dig deeper into these scenarios, you may find a childhood where you had parents who were overly critical or seemed to only express love, interest, or validation when you succeeded in school. Or you had a parent who was somewhat emotionally detached or aloof.
You may not recognize these as obvious traumas because there was no hitting or yelling in your childhood. The thing is when you grow up in an environment where love was scarce, inconsistent, or conditional, it becomes a quieter corrosive type of trauma which creates a foundation for an anxious personality.
Anxious Parents
It is not uncommon for parents to unintentionally pass down their worries and fears to you. If you grew up with an anxious parent, it’s likely that you yourself struggle with anxiety.
You may have grown up in a single parent home where a parent had chronic financial insecurity and, even though you as an adult now are financially stable and secure, you may find yourself worrying excessively about money.
If you look closely, you may find you share many of the anxieties your parents have.
Healing from Trauma-Related Anxiety
Being aware that anxiety can be rooted in past trauma is a helpful first step in addressing the discomfort and distress you’ve been dealing with. With the help of a therapist who specializes in trauma, you will find your way forward where anxiety is no longer weighing you down or limiting your life.
If you’re ready to receive support and explore a different way of being in the world, one which includes more calm and ease in your mind and body, please reach out to schedule a consultation.
About the Author
Lalo Rivera, LPC, SEP is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner. As the owner of The Listening Body Counseling Services, she is a firm believer in the transformative power of the mind-body connection as a portal for healing. She specializes in helping individuals overcome complex trauma and PTSD with body-oriented approaches.