Along with more well-known risk factors of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) -- such as experiencing a traumatic event -- there is also a connection between something known as anxiety sensitivity and PTSD. It has been found that anxiety sensitivity may make a person vulnerable to develop PTSD following a traumatic event.
Anxiety sensitivity refers to a person's tendency to fear anxiety-related symptoms (for example, increased heart rate, sweating, muscle tension, headaches) due to the belief that there will be some negative outcome as a result of having those symptoms. For example, a person may fear having an increased heart rate because they believe that it will increase their risk for a heart attack. Another person may fear being anxious because they think that others will view them in a negative light. Finally, someone might fear having the anxiety symptom of having a headache or difficulties concentrating because they think this is a sign that they are "going crazy."
Learn more about the relationship between anxiety sensitivity and PTSD in this article.
