Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is commonly referred to as an anxiety disorder by those who do not understand the distinction. It is true that anxiety can be a symptom of PTSD, as can depression, but stress is the operative word. For example, when a soldier is shell-shocked during combat, his reaction is to stress and not to anxiety. Stress and anxiety are two diverse concepts that are often used interchangeably, but when you break these two down, they are quite different.
If you have PTSD, You do not have to live with anxiety if you adopt the proper perspective and apply some mental strategy. To stress something is to put pressure on it. You can stress your words by putting emphasis, or more weight, on them. A stress fracture is produced by increasing the intensity of any activity too swiftly. Common stressors include driving in traffic, dealing with the job, raising a teenager, and keeping a roof over our heads. These things put pressure, or stress, on us.
When you have PTSD, you have a very low tolerance to stress. In many ways, the concepts of good stress and bad stress merge and it all feels like the same degree of stress. That's why some PTSD'ers go through the roof for seemingly no reason. The slightest stressor can be that spark that ignites an outburst. This is part of why PTSD is a stress disorder.
Anxiety is the product of worry. The type of thinking that will give you anxiety is the kind in which you obsess about your stressors. If your thoughts run along the lines of, "What if this happens, what if that happens...." you're going to become anxious. Prolonged fixation or attention to a worry causes it to grow and multiply. The next thing you know, you have two worries, then five, and so on. When you allow your worry to take over, it will produce anxiety. Before long, you are so anxious about everything that you're hyperventilating, wring your hands, pacing, and the list goes on.
If you have PTSD, you do not have to live with anxiety. Since anxiety is a condition that we, as humans, bring upon ourselves, you can choose to live without this symptom. The process is fairly simple, but it takes dedication and focus. The best way to alleviate anxiety is to do some simple soul searching and some proactive mental work.
Identify your thoughts, remembering the difference between stress, or pressure, and worry. What are you fretting over? Are you thinking in terms of "what if" scenarios?
Write them down and evaluate them. As you read them, ask yourself, "How can I solve this?" Or "What can I do about this?" If the answer is that there is nothing that you can do about this worry, it is time to let it go. The size or seeming importance of the issue should not matter if there is truly nothing that you can do about it.
If you can not solve the issue at the time, focusing on that issue will serve you no purpose. When you notice that you are worrying, stop what you are thinking and focus on feeling good instead. This takes practice, but you can do it if you work at it.
No one worries themselves into PTSD but those who suffer from PTSD can worry themselves into an anxiety disorder, which really adds unnecessary, additional stress to the equation. If you're proactive about catching your thoughts when they go in the direction of worry, you will learn how to experience more relief and more positive feelings. This will help you to heal and to grow in a direction that is more mentally sable and healthy.
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