Understanding Anxiety, Depression, and PTSD

Written by: Dr. Raquel Hammonds
May 26, 2025

We often use words like anxious, depressed, or traumatized in everyday conversation. But when these feelings start to interfere with daily life, relationships, or physical health, it’s time to look deeper. Anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are among the most common mental health conditions, but they’re often misunderstood, misdiagnosed, or lumped together.

Let’s take a closer look at what each condition really is, how they differ, and why understanding the nuances can be a powerful step toward healing.

What Is Anxiety?

Anxiety is a natural human response to stress. It becomes a clinical concern when it’s constant, overwhelming, and begins to disrupt life. People with anxiety disorders often live in a state of heightened alertness, anticipating danger or disaster even when there’s no clear threat.⁴

Symptoms may include:

a racing heart
shortness of breath
tightness in the chest
trouble sleeping
difficulty focusing

Some people also experience gastrointestinal (stomach) distress, like nausea or diarrhea. Anxiety can be triggered by life stressors or trauma, but for many, it seems to arise without an obvious cause.⁴

There are different types of anxiety disorders:

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) involves chronic worry about everyday situations.⁴
Panic disorder is marked by sudden, intense episodes of fear known as panic attacks.⁴
Social anxiety disorder is the fear of being judged or embarrassed in social settings.⁴

Though each subtype has its own features, the core thread is excessive fear or worry that feels hard to control.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), about 19% of U.S. adults experience an anxiety disorder each year, making it one of the most common mental health conditions in the country.⁴

What Is Depression?

Depression, or major depressive disorder, is more than just sadness. It’s a prolonged, deep sense of hopelessness, emptiness, or disconnection that lasts for at least two weeks—and often much longer. Unlike anxiety, which is rooted in fear, depression tends to feel heavy, dull, and emotionally flat.⁷

People with depression may:

lose interest in things they once enjoyed
struggle to get out of bed
feel unmotivated even to complete basic tasks

Other symptoms include changes in appetite and sleep, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and, in some cases, thoughts of death or suicide.⁷

Depression can be triggered by a specific event—like grief, illness, or a major life transition—or it can appear seemingly out of nowhere, particularly in people with a genetic or biological predisposition.⁷

The World Health Organization considers depression the leading cause of disability worldwide. Fortunately, it is also highly treatable with therapy, medication, lifestyle changes, or a combination of all three.⁷

What Is PTSD?

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that can develop after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. This might include military combat, physical or sexual assault, a serious accident, or prolonged exposure to abuse or neglect. PTSD doesn’t only affect veterans—it impacts children, teens, parents, survivors of violence, and people of all backgrounds.⁵

What sets PTSD apart is how the trauma continues to live in the body and mind. People with PTSD may experience:⁵

flashbacks
intrusive memories
nightmares

They often avoid anything that reminds them of the trauma. This can include people, places, conversations, or even certain smells or sounds. Many people with PTSD also feel emotionally numb, hypervigilant, or easily startled.⁵

There’s also a form called complex PTSD, which results from long-term or repeated trauma, such as childhood abuse. This version may involve not only the typical PTSD symptoms but also difficulties with emotional regulation, self-worth, and relationships.⁶

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, about 6% of Americans will experience PTSD at some point in their lives, though rates are higher among survivors of assault, marginalized communities, and first responders.⁵

How They Overlap—And Why It Matters

Anxiety, depression, and PTSD often exist together. A person with PTSD may also have panic attacks. Someone with depression might experience chronic anxiety. Shared symptoms, like sleep problems, irritability, or low energy, can make diagnosis tricky.¹

This is especially true in communities where mental health symptoms are dismissed as weakness or “just stress.” In Black and Brown communities, research shows that trauma and depression are frequently underdiagnosed or misdiagnosed, leading to delayed or inadequate care. That’s why understanding the differences and knowing what to look for is so important.²

What Treatment Looks Like

The good news is that all three conditions are treatable. Talk therapy is often the first step. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) helps people identify and reframe unhelpful thought patterns. For PTSD, specialized treatments like Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) or trauma-informed therapy can help process the underlying trauma safely.³

Medications, like SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), are commonly prescribed for both depression and anxiety. In PTSD, medications may be used alongside therapy to manage sleep, mood, and intrusive symptoms.³

Lifestyle plays a major role too. Exercise, nutrition, rest, mindfulness, faith practices, and community support all contribute to healing. In some cultures, spiritual healing or community-based care can be just as important as traditional medicine.³

When to Seek Help

If you’re struggling with persistent worry, hopelessness, or trauma-related symptoms, it’s time to talk to someone. Symptoms lasting more than two weeks, or interfering with work, relationships, or health, should never be ignored. And if there are thoughts of self-harm or suicide, reach out immediately to a crisis line, therapist, or trusted person in your life.