Trauma vs. Anxiety: How to Tell What Your Body Is Actually Responding To

Nov 18

Introduction

You’re sweating, your heart is racing, your chest feels tight — and your mind jumps to the same question every time:
Is this anxiety… or is this trauma?

If you’ve ever struggled to tell the difference, you’re not alone. Trauma and anxiety share so many physical symptoms that even mental health professionals need careful assessment to separate them.

But here’s the good news: by the end of this article, you’ll understand exactly how trauma and anxiety differ, the science behind each reaction, and most importantly, how to tell what your body is truly responding to — so you can finally get the right kind of support.

1. Trauma and Anxiety Feel Similar — But Begin in Different Places

**Anxiety is fear of the future.**

It’s your brain anticipating potential danger, even if nothing is happening right now. Anxiety is rooted in what could go wrong.

**Trauma is fear from the past.**

It’s your nervous system reacting to something that already happened, an imprint so strong that your body responds as if the threat is happening again.

Both activate the same survival systems, but the source of the activation is what separates the two.

2. The Neuroscience: What Happens Inside the Brain

With Anxiety:

The prefrontal cortex (thinking brain) becomes overwhelmed by worry.
The amygdala (fear center) activates based on perceived threats.
The HPA axis floods your bloodstream with stress hormones like cortisol.

Anxiety is often a thought-driven response.

With Trauma:

The amygdala reacts before you think.
The hippocampus (memory center) struggles to distinguish “then” from “now.”
The nervous system is triggered by sensations, sounds, smells, or internal cues.

Trauma is a body-driven response.

This is the core difference:
Anxiety comes from your thoughts.
Trauma comes from your nervous system.

3. How to Tell If It’s Trauma or Anxiety: Key Differences You Can Feel

Signs It’s Anxiety

You may be dealing with anxiety if:

You worry about future events
Your mind races or spirals
You overthink what “could” happen
Your symptoms respond to logic or reassurance
You experience generalized tension throughout the day

Anxiety is mind-first.

Signs It’s Trauma

You may be experiencing trauma responses if:

Your body reacts before your brain can explain it
Your heart rate spikes out of nowhere
You freeze, go numb, or dissociate
You feel “small,” ashamed, or unsafe without knowing why
Specific triggers (voices, tones, places, facial expressions) set you off
You have emotional flashbacks — where your feelings remember more than your mind does

Trauma is body-first.

If it feels like your body is betraying you, it’s probably trauma, not anxiety.

4. Why Trauma Often Gets Misdiagnosed as Anxiety

Trauma doesn’t always show up as nightmares or flashbacks.
Sometimes it looks like:

Chronic anxiety
Overthinking
Perfectionism
People-pleasing
Numbness or shutdown
Hypervigilance

These can all appear like “anxiety,” but they’re actually symptoms of a nervous system stuck in survival mode.

Studies show that trauma changes the structure and functioning of the amygdala, hippocampus, and even the vagus nerve, creating long-lasting patterns of fear and reactivity.

This is why trauma often masquerades as “general anxiety.”

5. The Polyvagal Perspective: Why Your Nervous System Reacts Differently

Dr. Stephen Porges’ Polyvagal Theory explains that your body has three main states:

Fight-or-Flight (Sympathetic) — panic, anger, racing thoughts
Freeze/Shutdown (Dorsal Vagal) — numbness, exhaustion, dissociation
Safety & Connection (Ventral Vagal) — calm, presence, clarity

Anxiety = Fight-or-Flight

A threat your mind imagines.

Trauma = Freeze or Fight-or-Flight

A threat your body remembers.

If you drop into shutdown, emotional numbness, or dissociation, that is almost always trauma, not anxiety.

6. Why it Matters: Anxiety and Trauma Need Different Healing Paths

You can treat both, but the approach matters:

Anxiety responds to:

Cognitive therapy (CBT)
Mindfulness
Lifestyle routines
Reassurance and grounding
Thought restructuring

Trauma responds to:

EMDR (rewires traumatic memories)
Somatic Therapy (releases stored body tension)
IFS (heals protective trauma “parts”)
Polyvagal-informed regulation
Body-based grounding

You cannot think your way out of trauma because trauma lives in the body.
You must release it physically, emotionally, and neurologically.

7. How Trauma Therapy Helps You Tell the Difference and Heal

At Golden Roots Therapy, clients often say:

“I thought I had anxiety for years — I didn’t realize it was trauma.”

Here’s how trauma therapy changes everything:

a. Somatic Awareness

You learn to notice physical cues of trauma — tight chest, numb limbs, throat tension — and gently regulate them.

b. EMDR Reprocessing

EMDR helps your brain separate the past from the present so your triggers stop firing.

c. Nervous System Regulation

You learn grounding techniques that teach your body what safety feels like.

d. Relearning Safety

Over time, your nervous system stops reacting to old threats. Your body finally exhale.

This is what real healing looks like — not managing symptoms, but dissolving the source.

8. Quick Self-Check: Is This Anxiety or Trauma?

Answer these:

Did the feeling come before the thought?
→ Trauma.
Did something specific trigger it?
→ Trauma.
Does reassurance help?
→ Likely anxiety.
Do you feel frozen, numb, or disconnected?
→ Trauma.
Do symptoms appear “out of the blue”?
→ Trauma stored in the body.
Do you fear what might happen?
→ Anxiety.
Do you fear what already happened?
→ Trauma.

Final Thoughts: Understanding Your Body Is the First Step to Healing

Whether it’s anxiety or trauma, your symptoms are not weakness — they’re a signal from your nervous system asking for support.

When you understand the difference, you can finally choose the right path forward.

At Golden Roots Therapy, we help clients in Saint Paul, Mahtomedi, and the East Metro understand their nervous system, unlearn trauma patterns, and heal deeply using EMDR, somatic therapy, and trauma-informed care.

If you’re ready to understand what your body is reacting to — and finally feel safe again — book your consultation today.

Nick Hartje