PTSD and Social Anxiety

PTSD and social anxiety are sometimes connected, but with the right support, you can manage the symptoms of both.

If you’ve experienced trauma that’s led to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), you may already have anxiety. If you also live with social anxiety disorder, this may increase the number of situations that cause you stress. Consequently, anxiety and the after effects of trauma are often connected but there are treatments and tips to manage both. There are a few ways that social anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are connected.

People with PTSD and social anxiety might:

feel different because of PTSD, so they avoid social situations
experience socially isolating shame or guilt stemming from PTSD
live with depression from PTSD, which makes it difficult to maintain a social life
People with social anxiety may have a higher chance of experiencing PTSD because of social trauma, which according to research from 2020, can involve fear of humiliation and rejection in social situations.

Therefore, taking into account each person’s unique experience can help understand the different types of threats that may play a role in PTSD, including social traumas.

Why are these two conditions related?

People living with PTSD can feel a high amount of social stress, and certain social situations might trigger PTSD. You might find yourself in a continuous state of hypervigilance because your sympathetic (fight, flight, or freeze response) nervous system expects more threatening situations.

Hence, this can make social situations anxiety provoking.

If you have a primary diagnosis of social anxiety disorder, you may experience social trauma differently than other people. Therefore, you may develop PTSD because of social trauma.

Ordinarily, the criteria for a PTSD diagnosis include having experienced a trauma that poses the threat of death, injury, or sexual violence. But people with social anxiety disorder may have a lower threshold for trauma when it’s social in nature.

Subsequently, for people with pre-existing social anxiety, this type of experience can be particularly upsetting.

Common symptoms of PTSD

These are some common signs and symptoms that you might recognize. Altogether, everyone’s experience is different, so you may experience some, none or all of these things.

Reliving aspects of what happened

This can include:

firstly, vivid flashbacks (feeling like the trauma is happening right now)
intrusive thoughts or images
nightmares
intense distress at real or symbolic reminders of the trauma
finally, physical sensations such as pain, sweating, nausea or trembling.

Alertness or feeling on edge

This can include:

firstly, panicking when reminded of the trauma
being easily upset or angry
extreme alertness, also sometimes called ‘hypervigilance’
fourthly, disturbed sleep or a lack of sleep
irritability or aggressive behavior
finding it hard to concentrate – including on simple or everyday tasks
being jumpy or easily startled
lastly, other symptoms of anxiety.

Avoiding feelings or memories

This can include:

firstly, feeling like you have to keep busy
avoiding anything that reminds you of the trauma
being unable to remember details of what happened
in addition, feeling emotionally numb or cut off from your feelings
feeling physically numb or detached from your body
being unable to express affection
doing things that could be self-destructive or reckless
finally, using alcohol or drugs to avoid memories.

Difficult beliefs or feelings

This can include:

firstly, feeling like you can’t trust anyone
feeling like nowhere is safe
feeling like nobody understands
blaming yourself for what happened
finally, overwhelming feelings of anger, sadness, guilt or shame.

Are people with PTSD socially awkward?

People with trauma or PTSD and social anxiety may have a difficult time trusting new people or feeling safe in the world. Henceforth, they may feel exposed while out in social situations and can experience anxiety that they do not experience while alone or in smaller groups.

Due to some of the issues with low self-esteem that victims of trauma may develop, they may feel out of their comfort zones when in groups with new or unfamiliar people. They may only trust a few individuals in their lives and suffer great anxiety with social situations. All in all, social anxiety can limit a person’s overall well-being and quality of life.

Social anxiety can inhibit a person from making friends or engaging in new activities. Sometimes, the anxiety comes out during interactions, leading to difficulty in communicating with others. Other times, the anxiety manifests itself in preparation for going out and fearing social interactions. In this case, the person may not leave the home at all due to fear!

Social Isolating

PTSD and social anxiety are common mental disorders affecting around 8% of the population at any given time. The result of a stressful experience, such as fighting in a war, physical or sexual assault. Also, surviving a natural disaster or anything else that results in fear, acute stress or anxiety, PTSD can be debilitating when symptoms are at their peak.

PTSD can have many causes, and different people will respond in varying ways to the same events. Something like escaping from a building fire may not leave a lasting mark on one person but may cause signs of PTSD in another. Regardless of the cause, however, symptoms tend to be more alike than different. Therefore, one of the most notable symptoms for a majority of those affected by PTSD is self-isolation.

What Is Self-Isolation?

Self-isolation refers to the tendency to separate oneself from others. Therefore, rather than going to parties, taking part in team events, hanging out with friends or spending time with family members, individuals will instead choose to spend time alone.

While it’s normal for everyone to crave solo time on occasion, self-isolation goes far beyond forgoing a few events. Basically, those who self-isolate completely retreat into themselves, allowing the stress involved in seeing others and taking part in normal activities to prevent participation in previously pleasurable behaviors.

Hence, self-isolation can be a symptom of other forms of mental illness, like depression or anxiety disorders, but is a key side effect to note in those living with PTSD.

Conclusion

If you or a loved one is living with PTSD, moving forward can seem next to impossible. However, there is hope on the horizon. Getting help can alleviate the pain that accompanies traumatic memories and anxiety surrounding triggers, leading to a happy, healthy future.

Inspiring someone to get help with PTSD social withdrawal isn’t easy, but helping to lay out the situation can make a difference. Be clear about your outside perspective — you are aware that you don’t understand — but reinforce that you know help is out there. Also, provide information about resources, like counselors and treatment centers, and be clear about your unwavering support. Furthermore, check-in as often as possible, whether that’s daily, weekly or even monthly, depending on the situation. Due to proper assurances and testimony about what getting help can do, PTSD-affected individuals may be willing to consider treatment.