Ok. What this comes down to is NOT cs v vb. This is about your mental health and what is the best way of dealing with your problems.
CBT is now being touted as the 'solution' to reduce all these maternal requests, but whilst it helps a lot of people its not the only option and doesn't help everyone. Given the pressure of the ticking clock of pregnancy, I think it is perhaps wise to pursue a number of different options, so you can work out which is ultimately going to be best for you.
The very first thing that is helpful, is to instead of thinking of it as PTSD or whatever anxiety you have is, is to think of it as lots of smaller individual fears that combine to make up this massive wall of fear which seems so difficult to get past.
Break down your fear into little bits by writing it ALL down. This means its easier to discuss with other people. So if you are afraid of a particular thing that's one thing eg, lack of control, tears, forceps, pain etc are all separate issues that you should talk about one by one. It can be anything no matter how ridiculous you might think it is. Its still something that needs to be addressed.
One you've done that, you can talk about things that might help you cope with different scenarios or how they can help certain aspects easier for you. Things like hypobirthing, a doula, waterbirth, early epidurals, a robust birth plan discussed in advance as well as an ELCS. Equally this breaking down of fears is important if you have an ELCS too as that is not free from stressful or difficult scenarios.
The hospital I was at was very much of the opinion that you could pursue this in addition to the ELCS pathway and that you were not obliged to have an ELCS. Its more about keeping the option open as a 'safety blanket' whilst you explored all your options. In doing so they let you stay in control and make the decisions yourself and in the process you built up a relationship and trust with safe, which in itself was a positive thing to help you cope with the birth regardless of which path you took. Just because you have an ELCS on the table does not mean you can't have a VB. How you feel now, may change in a few months, if you feel happy and confident in the staff supporting you.
Be aware that there are things about an ELCS that may possibly be difficult or triggering to cope with too. Its not a magic solution, and they too can and do go wrong occasionally. Do your research on this, and how you tackle certain aspects of an ELCS too, as you may need additional support and special instructions that differ from a 'bog standard' ELCS too.
There is no right answer here and no one can say what is best for you, apart from you. That includes medical staff. They can only guide you and support you.