Is it anxiety, depression, or PTSD?
Are you constantly nervous? Does your mind wander endlessly through uncontrollable cycles of worry? Or maybe you feel depressed and unable to do the things that you used to do. Do you feel restless? Irritable? Broken?
If any of these sound familiar, you may have wondered if you have depression or anxiety. You may even wonder if you have something else, like bipolar disorder. But many times when a client comes to me thinking they have depression or anxiety, they are actually dealing with PTSD symptoms.
We tend to associate PTSD with the worst of the worst - combat, human trafficking, or severe child abuse. Many people assume that they can't have PTSD because they haven't suffered as badly as the people who have been exposed to these things. But the fact is, PTSD is a survival response and can happen anytime we are exposed to a traumatic event, including things like bullying, emotional abuse, emotional neglect, or having a loved one suffer a traumatic assault or death.
How do you know if you have anxiety, depression, or PTSD?
It's possible to have an anxiety disorder and a depressive disorder at the same time, and many people suffer with this set of disorders without having experienced any significant trauma in their lives. The only way to truly know if your symptoms meet the criteria for a mental disorder is to be evaluated by a mental health professional. Preferably one who specializes in anxiety treatment, trauma therapy, or depression. If you're curious what the symptoms of each disorder are, keep reading below.
Anxiety Symptoms
Anxiety's main symptom is excessive worry that impacts your daily living. This is anxiousness that goes beyond just being nervous to return to the world after COVID or about an upcoming test. At the level where it's considered a disorder, the anxiety is stopping you from living or enjoying your life. Other symptoms include irritability, restlessness, and trouble sleeping. If this sounds like you, it'll be helpful to reach out to a trained professional who specializes in anxiety treatment.
Depression Symptoms
Depression's main symptom is sadness, emptiness, or loss of interest every day, or nearly every day. Other symptoms include changes in appetite and sleep, lack of motivation, and feelings of worthlessness. If you or a loved one has been suffering from these symptoms, reach out to a trained depression specialist for help quickly. Depression can be life threatening.
PTSD Symptoms
PTSD symptoms sometimes feel like a combination of depression and anxiety. The sadness is there, as well as intense anxiety. PTSD also includes things like intrusive thoughts, flashbacks to previous life events, dissociative symptoms (feeling like you or the world around you aren't quite real), nightmares, and deep distrust of yourself or others. Often people may think that they are experiencing anxiety and depression, but when we look closer, they actually have PTSD. If this sounds like you, reach out to a professional who specializes in trauma therapy. Evidence-based trauma therapy is effective.
What if you think you have PTSD but you don't have a traumatic past?
If this is the case, reach out to a professional. A trained, qualified, therapist who uses evidence-based techniques will help you understand if events in your life are traumatic and won't give you "false memories" or make you believe something happened when it didn't. Often people don't realize that they experienced traumatic events because the event was normalized for them. Working with a trauma therapy specialist that you trust will help you to decide if your symptoms are related to trauma.
When to reach out
If you or a loved one is experiencing any of the symptoms listed above, it is okay to reach out to a mental health professional. Sometimes reaching out is the strongest thing you can do. If you're in the Denver or Colorado Springs area and you're curious about therapy or have questions, click on the button below to contact me. You can email me a question or set up a free 15-minute consultation. There's no obligation, so reach out today.