When Anxiety is a Trauma Response: Insights from an Anxiety and Trauma Therapist in Erie, PA
You feel like you’re always on edge, like you have to peek around every corner, think of every worst-case scenario. You’ve done meditation, deep breathing, and yoga. You’ve tried clearing your mind, journaling, and taking a walk. The anxiety medication just isn’t cutting it. Nothing seems to stop your anxiety - and you’re anxious about that, too.
When anxiety seems insurmountable, there’s a chance that you’re not just dealing with anxiety - you’re dealing with anxiety as a response to trauma. It’s not just a difference in diagnosis - it’s a powerful, persistent survival strategy rooted in your past.
At Metamorphosis Counseling, we see this critical link - shifting the focus from “what’s wrong with me?” to “what happened to me?” Through therapy, we’ll explore the deep connection between anxiety and trauma, and the ways that a specialized, compassionate trauma therapist can help you cope with both.
Understanding the Connection: Anxiety and Trauma
In our society, it’s easy to think that an anxious brain is a sign of something wrong with you. We’re constantly thinking, “don’t worry, be happy” - and you’ve probably scoffed at how easy that sounds while knowing it’s anything but. One major thing that can help you begin to make peace with anxiety (and therefore lessen its impact) is accepting that anxiety isn’t a quirk or character flaw. It’s your brain trying to keep you safe.
When you’ve been through trauma - whether a single, catastrophic event or a series of chronic stress (like emotional neglect or bullying) - it leaves a mark on your nervous system. Your amygdala (the brain’s alarm center) learns that the world is a dangerous place and gets stuck in a “high alert” mode.
Can Anxiety Be a Survival Tactic?
What you think is anxiety might be the manifestation of an exhausted “fight, flight, freeze, or fawn” response.
Hypervigilance
When you’re constantly worried about when the other shoe is going to drop, feeling tense and on edge, you’re being hypervigilant and experiencing the remnants of the “flight” response. You might notice that you can’t stop worrying about seemingly trivial things, have trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep, or being jumpy or easily startled.
Anxiety Attacks
When you feel like you can’t breathe, your heart is pounding out of your chest, or you’re pouring sweat, your fight or flight response is kicking into high gear. Your brain and body are convinced that danger is imminent - and you need to do something about it! Even if the danger is just needing to turn in a project to your boss or have a difficult conversation, your mind treats it like a dangerous animal waiting to pounce on you.
Difficulty Trusting Others
Often linked to the “Freeze” or “Fawn” responses, problems with intimacy and connection often stem from complicated trauma experiences with other people. Whether you realize it or not, you’re shutting yourself off from connecting with others, because your history has convinced your brain that intimacy and vulnerability are threats to your safety.
When anxiety is treated without addressing underlying trauma, it’s like replacing the smoke detector’s battery without putting out the fire. The immediate noise stops, but the damage continues.
Trauma-Informed Therapy Approaches at Metamorphosis Counseling
Healing anxiety that stems from trauma requires therapy that goes beyond managing symptoms. It requires trauma-informed care: an approach to therapy that focuses on helping you to trust your therapist, feel safe, work together, and empower you to make changes in your life to heal and grow through your trauma.
When you experience trauma, your brain can often encode memories incorrectly, leading to feelings of “stuckness” and anxiety. Therapy can help you to reprocess these memories appropriately, identify the mind and/or body connection that they’ve affected, and find new ways to react to them.
Somatic Therapy (EMDR, Progressive Counting)
Somatic therapies such as EMDR and Progressive Counting help clients to disconnect the high emotion, such as anxiety, from a traumatic memory, so that the memory feels “unstuck”. Clients often say that this feels like “turning down the volume” on their anxiety and the strong body-based sensations that result from recalling the memory. Somatic therapies are great for those who feel “stuck” in their trauma and need help climbing out of the “fight or flight” hole.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Acceptance and commitment therapy (abbreviated ACT - the word, not the letters) works by helping clients develop skills to make room for the difficult thoughts and feelings that arise as a result of their trauma, be more mindful of their responses, and commit to making changes in their lives to behave more like the kind of person they want to be, rather than reacting to their trauma. ACT is a great option for clients who notice that their anxiety is mostly mental in nature (e.g., they spend a lot of time worrying) or who feel they know what to do, but just don’t know how to get started.
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) or Trauma-Focused CBT (TF-CBT)
CPT and TF-CBT work by helping clients address the unhelpful thoughts that often develop after trauma, such as “it was my fault” or “the world is entirely unsafe”. These thoughts can often fuel behavior that leads to anxiety spirals. Both work to challenge the beliefs that your brain has chosen, and to restructure them so that you aren’t stuck in a cycle of fear, anger, and mistrust.
Finding the Right Anxiety & Trauma Therapist
Healing from trauma requires a supportive relationship and specialized tools. When you’re vetting therapists, don’t hesitate to ask specific questions:
“Are you trauma-informed? What does that mean to you?” A good response should include principles such as making clients feel safe, helping clients feel empowered, and encouraging client choice.
“What is your experience treating anxiety that seems resistant to traditional therapies?” Look for a focus on root causes of anxiety, not just symptom management.
“Do you use specific modalities, e.g., EMDR, progressive counting, or CPT?” This ensures that they have the specific tools needed for trauma processing.
Finding the right professional can feel like a lot of work, but it’s a crucial step. A trauma therapist in Erie, PA, who understands that your anxiety is a defense mechanism - not a deficit in you - will treat you with the compassion and respect you deserve.
Take the Next Step with Anxiety Therapy in Erie, PA
If your anxiety has been chronic, debilitating, or resistant to previous treatment, it may be time to look deeper. Your constant worry and hypervigilance are not signs of weakness; they are signs that your survival system is working overtime.
You can learn to regulate your nervous system, process the past, and teach your body that the danger is over. Healing is possible with online or in-person therapy in Erie, PA.
Don't settle for surface-level treatment. Reach out to a trauma-informed therapist with Metamorphosis Counseling today and begin the journey of transforming your anxiety from a warning alarm into a quiet, grounded awareness.
Start Your Healing Journey with an Anxiety and Trauma Therapist in Erie, PA
You don’t have to manage anxiety or unresolved trauma on your own. At Metamorphosis Counseling, we offer therapy in Erie, PA, designed to help you understand the deeper roots of anxiety and begin healing with compassion and clarity. Together with our team, we’ll work to calm anxious thoughts, process painful memories safely, and rebuild a sense of peace and confidence.
Here’s how to get started:
Call or text 814-273-6270 or fill out our contact form to connect with our team and learn how therapy can support you.
Schedule your first session with an anxiety and trauma therapist in Erie, PA, who will create a personalized plan for healing.
Begin learning strategies to manage anxiety, regulate emotions, and move forward with greater balance and self-understanding.
You don’t have to keep carrying the weight of anxiety or trauma alone. Support and healing are possible with a compassionate therapist ready to help you take the next step.
Additional Services at Metamorphosis Counseling
At Metamorphosis Counseling, we understand that anxiety and trauma often intertwine, and healing takes time and care. That’s why our services go beyond anxiety therapy to support your whole emotional experience. In addition to trauma-informed counseling and online therapy options in Erie, PA, we help clients explore how past pain may shape present fears, guiding them toward lasting calm and resilience.
We also provide therapy for children and teens, helping young clients manage anxiety, navigate life changes, and build emotional strength. Whether you’re working through your own trauma or supporting your child’s mental health, our team offers a compassionate, nonjudgmental space to grow, heal, and reconnect.
