Similarities Between PTSD and Generalized Anxiety Disorder

What Are PTSD and Generalized Anxiety Disorder?

Before we dive into an exploration of the similarities between these two mental health conditions, let’s begin by reviewing what each condition entails:

PTSD Symptoms

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a condition that can arise in those who witness or go through traumatic events or circumstances, such as serious accidents, combat, sexual violence, domestic violence, natural disasters, and other shocking and distressing experiences.¹ Complex PTSD (C-PTSD) is a type of PTSD that specifically results from chronic trauma, such as that caused by long-term domestic violence, human trafficking, or war.² Most often, symptoms of PTSD include:³

• Intrusive thoughts such as repeated, involuntary memories of the traumatic event
• Flashbacks to the traumatic event, which may feel real
• Nightmares
• Avoiding reminders of, and thinking/speaking about the traumatic event
• Memory loss related to the traumatic event
• Cognitive distortion, which causes unfair blame on oneself or others for the event
• Feeling disconnected from others
• Lack of enjoyment of previously enjoyed activities
• Irritability
• Self-destructive behavior
• Hypervigilance
• Being startled easily
• Difficulty concentrating
• Insomnia

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) Symptoms

GAD can cause excessive, debilitating worry about a range of issues, from health and money to personal concerns such as relationships with family and friends.⁴ The most common GAD symptoms include the following:^{5 6}

• Difficulty concentrating
• Catastrophizing about future outcomes
• Irritability and restlessness
• Feeling overwhelmed and out of control
• Hypervigilance
• Difficulty with tolerating uncertainty
• Muscle tension
• Fatigue
• Lightheadedness
• Sweating
• Tremors
• Insomnia
• Digestive symptoms

Shared Symptoms of PTSD and GAD

While these are two distinct conditions, PTSD and GAD can cause many of the same symptoms. Both conditions can cause excessive fear and anxiety, insomnia, hypervigilance, irritability, and difficulty concentrating. In addition, both GAD and PTSD can cause physical symptoms such as elevated heart rate, rapid breathing, sweating, tremors, muscle tension, and digestive symptoms.

Underlying Mechanisms Linking PTSD and GAD

The reason for the numerous shared symptoms of these two conditions are that they share underlying mechanisms. PTSD and GAD are both associated with greater activity in the amygdala, the part of the brain that regulates fear responses, causing elevated reactions to threats.⁷ The chronic stress caused by trauma (in the case of PTSD) and excessive worry (in the case of GAD) can cause constant activation of the sympathetic nervous system, known informally as the “fight or flight” response.⁸

Diagnosing PTSD vs. GAD

Since GAD and PTSD commonly have numerous overlapping symptoms, it can be especially difficult to distinguish between the two. However, there are some key differences between PTSD and anxiety. PTSD is related to a specific traumatic event or series of events, while GAD is not typically triggered by specific traumas and tends to manifest more generally.⁹ In addition, PTSD is distinct, since it often involves flashbacks to or nightmares about the trauma that triggered the disorder, which is not the case with GAD.¹⁰

Treatment for PTSD and Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Effective treatments for both PTSD and GAD typically include psychotherapy and medication. For PTSD, cognitive processing therapy (CPT), prolonged exposure therapy, and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) are some of the most common and effective treatments.¹¹ Psychotherapeutic GAD treatments typically include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as well as acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).¹²

For both PTSD and GAD, the most effective medications tend to be selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs),¹³ but this will vary depending on the opinion of a qualified medical professional. Some people suffering from GAD may also be prescribed an anti-anxiety medication, such as benzodiazepines and buspirone.¹⁴

If you live in Florida and need psychotherapy and/or medication management to treat PTSD or GAD, consider reaching out to Inlight Psychiatry and Therapy to schedule your initial psychiatric evaluation.