How this works (or at least what i was taught) :
Anxiety is the fight or flight response witch comes from the part of the brain called the Amygdala witch is at the bottom of the brain near the stem, this part of the brain lights up in a stressful situation

Creativity comes.... https://twitter.com/lovel_tanya/status/1266233051018784769

...from the part of the brain called the prefrontal cortex in the frontal lobe and lights up when you are doing something creative

So if you are in a stressful situation and the Amygdala is lighting up then grab an eyeliner pencil or a sharpie and draw on your arms...

...legs or anywhere else on your body, this makes the prefrontal cortex light up instead of the Amygdala thus causing you to calm down and slowly come out of fight or flight

But wait theres more, im about to explain how PTSD works to some extent

So long term memory is stored in a place called the hippocampus, right?

But memories can be stored anywhere in the brain too

So, say you have a stressful/traumatic memory right...

Lets say as an example you had a particular argument witch got violent or something along those lines

That memory would then be stored in our old friend the Amygdala because the Amygdala shuts off other parts of the brain while it is active, this includes the hippocampus...

Therefore if the hippocampus is off it cant store memories

So the memories got to go somewhere right? So whats the only part in the brain thats lighting up in this particular moment?

Mr Amygdala. So because this memory is stored in fight or flight centre this also means...

When you recall this memory or have this memory triggered for you by sensing something that relates to it then it will make Mr Amygdala light up and send you into fight or flight causing anxiety attacks and flashbacks

Questions?