Whats The Difference Between Anxiety And Being Stressed
The words stress and anxiety are sometimes used interchangeably. So how can you tell the difference between common stress and an anxiety disorder? Both share many of the same physical symptoms, such as increased heart rate, muscle tension, or rapid breathing. In both cases, your body is releasing hormones to trigger these symptoms.
Stress is a normal, proportional reaction to a stressful situation or external pressures. Its normal to feel stressed about a final exam or job interview.
When we talk about anxiety as in anxiety disorders, anxiety is a condition characterized by feelings of apprehension or unexplained thoughts of impending doom.
Another way to tell the difference between stress and an anxiety disorder is noticing how long your feelings of stress last. When stress lingers for days or weeks and prevents you from carrying out day-to-day activities, then you may be experiencing anxiety. You could be avoiding certain places or situations in fear of what might happen. You may even feel anxious about the fact that youre anxious. If you are having these concerns, you are not alone. Anxiety disorders are common and manageable.
Related Topics
Treatment Of Anxiety Disorders
The two main treatments for anxiety are psychotherapy and medication, and many people benefit from a combination of the two.
- Psychotherapy: Talk therapy is effective in helping people identify, process, and cope with their triggers of anxiety. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a highly effective, short-term treatment that helps people learn specific skills to target their specific triggers.
- Medication: Antidepressants generally have some mild side effects but help alleviate some symptoms of anxiety. Antidepressants can be used for an extended period of time. Buspirone is an anti-anxiety medication that can also be used on an ongoing basis. Benzodiazepines can be used on a limited basis to mitigate anxiety symptoms, but they can be habit-forming. All medications should be thoroughly discussed with your healthcare provider. Any side effects should be reported immediately. Never discontinue the use of these medications without supervision from your healthcare provider.
- Lifestyle changes: There are several changes you can make at home before you try medications. Daily exercise, good sleep hygiene, healthy eating, and avoiding caffeine and alcohol are all home remedies that can decrease symptoms of anxiety.
Anxiety Involves Needless Worry
A lot of the symptoms of stress mimic those of anxiety â from trouble sleeping and stomach issues to irritability and inability to focus, they can look awfully similar. However, there is one telltale symptom that signals anxiety and only anxiety: a persistent feeling of apprehension or dread.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, “all anxiety disorders have one thing in common: persistent, excessive fear or worry in situations that are not threatening.” So while “I am worried that if I can’t find a new job soon, I won’t be able to pay rent this month” could be a stress-related thought, “I am worried that my boss secretly hates me and wants to fire me, and when she inevitably does that, I won’t be able to pay rent” is definitely an anxious thought.
Why This Difference Is Important: Knowing that you’re dealing with anxiety is important when it comes to getting the proper treatment the kind of counseling given to someone coping with a great deal of stress will be quite different than the course of treatment from a person suffering from generalized anxiety disorder.
Recommended Reading: How To Stop Heart Palpitations Due To Anxiety
What Are The Differences Between Stress And Anxiety
Most people use the terms stress and anxiety interchangeably as if they are the same things. However, they are not the same and we are going to explore the differences among anxiety and stress below
Stupid Stress: Taking On The Worlds Suffering
5. Stress feels situational anxiety feels personal.
Because stress is often conceived as relating to external pressure, it often feels situational and therefore outside our control. In this way, stress seldom generates feelings of responsibility or shame. Instead, stress is sometimes even culturally prized as a badge of honor or status symbol. Anxiety, on the other hand, is neither associated with feelings of pride nor a sense of doing our best. Instead, it is usually experienced as a weakness, a mental failing, and therefore something to be ashamed of.
6. Stress and anxiety share physiological similarities.
And yet, despite the definitional, clinical, and cultural differences, stress and anxiety are physiologically indistinguishable. At their most intense, they share the almost reflexive defensive survival reaction, commonly known as fight-or-flight, that sets off a cascade of physical changes along the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis preparing the body for threat. Attention is sharpened, energy is boosted, while oxygen and immunity are heightened readying the body for action. While the intensity of the threat response can vary, the experience of stress and anxiety in our bodies is almost indistinguishable physiologically. One persons experience of stress is another persons experience of anxiety, and vice versa.
7. We control how we define stress and anxiety, and our experience of it.
This post originally appeared on my my blog.
Don’t Miss: How Can I Get Rid Of Anxiety
Am I Experiencing Stress Or Anxiety
Chances are that you are probably experiencing a little bit of both, but one may be more overwhelming. Here are some signs that can help you distinguish between anxiety and stress:
Begin Your Recovery Journey.
Anxiety I Thought I Was Just Stressed
Stress and anxiety are related, but not synonymous states. Both are normal, adaptive responses to lifes challenges work, relationships, mortality, to name just a few and share many symptoms, including worry, stomach aches, restlessness, muscle tension, racing thoughts, headaches, sleepless nights, or all of the above.
For these reasons and more, we often use the words anxiety and stress interchangeably. Yet despite their similarities, there are important differences between the two. Determining whats going on for you is the first step towards finding relief.
Recommended Reading: What Causes Social Anxiety Disorder
Too Worried Stressed Or Anxious To Read The Whole Article
Heres the takeaway: Worry happens in your mind, stress happens in your body, and anxiety happens in your mind and your body. In small doses, worry, stress, and anxiety can be positive forces in our lives. But research shows that most of us are too worried, too stressed and too anxious. The good news, according to Dr. Marques, is that there are simple first steps to help regulate your symptoms: Get enough sleep eat regular, nutritious meals and move your body.
How Does Worry Work
Worry actually has an important function in our lives, according to Luana Marques, an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and the president of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. When we think about an uncertain or unpleasant situation such as being unable to pay the rent or doing badly on an exam our brains become stimulated. When we worry, it calms our brains down. Worry is also likely to cause us to problem-solve or take action, both of which are positive things. Worry is a way for your brain to handle problems in order to keep you safe, Dr. Marques explained. Its only when we get stuck thinking about a problem that worry stops being functional.
Also Check: How Long Do Anxiety Attacks Last
What Causes Stress And Anxiety
There are five main causes of stress and anxiety in college. However, thats not to say there are only five causes studying for exams, financial burdens, social pressures, feeling homesick, relationship issues, homework assignments, and meeting expectations of parents and professors are just a few.
A student can react to any of these stressors with anxiety. Just thinking about their responsibilities can cause some students with great anxiety. When you are anxious, you may find it hard to sleep, unable to concentrate or focus, poor diet, digestive issues, and even using substances to overcome the effects of anxiety.
All these reactions will produce further negative effects.
Students can prepare for these causes by recognizing the difference between stress and anxiety and being ready for them when they occur. Preparation includes knowing specific symptoms related to each.
Are Stress And Anxiety Different From Each Other
Stress, anxiety & depression all are different from each other, however might have some similar symptoms.
Its not that easy to understand the difference as they are the reacting of body, well stress only comes when there is an upcoming threat.
But, anxiety can also occur, if there is nothing triggering it.
You May Like: How Do You Overcome Social Anxiety
Is It Anxiety Or Depression
If you often feel anxious or depressed for no apparent reason, you may have an anxiety disorder, depression, or both. Its not unusual for someone to suffer from both conditions at the same time. In fact, just about half of those diagnosed with depression are also diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.
Depression and anxiety are serious but treatable illnesses. The same medications may be used to ease symptoms of each condition. The two also share similar symptoms, like nervousness, irritability, insomnia and problems concentrating, but each has its own causes.
Anxiety: If you have an anxiety disorder, you may experience:
- Fear, panic or anxiety in situations where most people would not feel anxious or threatened
- A constant nagging worry or anxiousness
- Sudden panic or anxiety attacks without any clear trigger
Untreated, these disorders can limit your ability to work, maintain relationships or even leave the house.
Depression: When youre depressed, it affects just about everything in your life how you think, feel, behave and function. You may experience one or more of these symptoms:
- Discouragement
- Lack of motivation or interest in life in general
- Low energy level
- Insomnia
- Feeling overwhelmed by daily tasks and personal interactions
If these feelings last longer than two weeks, and interfere with daily activities like spending time with friends, caring for your family or going to work, most likely youre experiencing a major depressive episode.
Three Things To Help Your Anxiety
-
Limit your sugar, alcohol and caffeine intake. Because anxiety is physiological, stimulants may have a significant impact.
-
Check-in with your toes. How do they feel? Wiggle them. This kind of refocusing can calm you and break the anxiety loop.
-
When youre in the middle of an anxiety episode, talking or thinking about it will not help you. Try to distract yourself with your senses: Listen to music, jump rope for five minutes, or rub a piece of Velcro or velvet.
Remember: Anxiety happens in your mind and your body so trying to think your way out of it wont help.
Read Also: Can Anxiety Go Away On Its Own
The Difference Between Worry Stress And Anxiety
Theyre not all the same, but we do have tips to help you deal with all of them.
You probably experience worry, stress or anxiety at least once on any given day. Nearly 40 million people in the U.S. suffer from an anxiety disorder, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Three out of four Americans reported feeling stressed in the last month, a 2017 study found. But in one of these moments, if asked which you were experiencing worry, stress or anxiety would you know the difference?
I reached out to two experts to help us identify and cope with all three.
Three Things To Help Your Stress
-
Get exercise. This is a way for your body to recover from the increase of adrenaline and cortisol.
-
Get clear on what you can and cant control. Then focus your energy on what you can control and accept what you cant.
-
Dont compare your stress with anyone elses stress. Different people respond differently to stressful situations.
Remember: Stress is a biological response that is a normal part of our lives.
Also Check: Does Anxiety Cause Chest Tightness
Do I Have Anxiety Or Worry: Whats The Difference
- By Luana Marques, PhD, Contributor
Have you ever thought about starting a new job or school, and found your heart pounding and your mind racing with a series of what ifs? If so, you may wonder do I have anxiety?
Anxiety is your bodys natural threat response system. When your brain believes you are in danger, it sends out a series of signals to your body, resulting in the fight-or-flight response.
How Does Anxiety Work
Remember how stress is a natural response to a threat? Well, anxiety is the same thing except there is no threat.
Anxiety in some ways is a response to a false alarm, said Dr. Marques, describing a situation, for example, in which you show up at work and somebody gives you an off look. You start to have all the physiology of a stress response because youre telling yourself that your boss is upset with you, or that your job might be at risk. The blood is flowing, the adrenaline is pumping, your body is in a state of fight or flight but there is no predator in the bushes.
Recommended Reading: Can You Get Sick From Anxiety