Stress and anxiety often get grouped together. Many people even think they’re the same thing. But, it’s important to know the difference between stress and anxiety, so you can really know what you’re dealing with.
It can be difficult to spot the differences between these two issues because they share many physical symptoms, and have similar/overlapping treatment strategies.
But, simply put, stress is a natural (and helpful) reaction from your body. It is a carry-over from our cave-man days when we needed a way to quickly and effectively respond to danger and threats in our life. Most of the stress then related to survival and true life-and-death threats. We needed a system in our body to quickly mobilize us for action (fight-run-hide). When that intense situation is over, the body gradually settles down back to normal levels.
Anxiety, on the other hand, is a mental health condition with a variety of lasting symptoms. It may even start out as stress, but for whatever reason, you can’t seem to get back to a normal baseline level after the threat is over.
If you’re feeling apprehensive or overwhelmed, it’s important to know whether you are dealing with stress or anxiety so you can get the help you need to feel at peace once again.
What Are the Signs of Stress?
The symptoms of stress and anxiety are very similar and therefore easily confused. Anxiety is certainly linked to stress and can even be caused by prolonged stress. Some of the most common symptoms of stress include:
- Headaches
- Irritability
- Worry
- Rapid heart rate
- Feeling dizzy or faint
- Muscle tightness
- Lack of concentration
- Forgetfulness
- Low energy/fatigue
There are many more signs to consider. Stress affects everyone differently. But, if you pay attention to your own signs and symptoms, it can become easier to learn how to manage your stress and how it affects you over time.
It’s also important to understand your stress triggers. For example, one person may find public speaking very stressful, while another person loves that feelings of excitement. The second person may find time alone more stressful and triggering that public speaking!
Our body gets stressed when it reacts to certain situations. Knowing what your triggers are can help when it comes to learning how to handle them before they become a bigger problem and cause more negative physical symptoms.
What Are the Symptoms of Anxiety?
Many of the symptoms of anxiety and even anxiety disorder are exactly the same as stress. You might experience muscle tension, a rapid heart rate, sweating, dizziness, etc.
But, where stressful symptoms are usually manageable and will go away when a stressful situation is over, anxiety is often more serious. If you’re feeling worried or anxious all the time, it can have a huge negative impact on your life. In fact, it can even start to become debilitating.
Anxiety is the most common mental health disorder in the U.S. There is absolutely no shame in getting an official diagnosis, so you can get the help you need.
Anxiety differs from stress in that you may find yourself feeling keyed up “for no reason”, and then noticing that tension level becomes the new “threat” trigger. You may find yourself thinking, “I have no reason to be stressed, so this chest tightness and shortness of breath must mean I am truly in medical danger and need to go to ER.” And who wouldn’t find that thought pretty alarming and stressful? So the cycle of anxiety feeding off itself has begun.
Another way anxiety perpetuates itself is in the very way we try to feel better. Perhaps you once had a panic attack or stressful experience while at the grocery store, or while driving. Now, it is seems natural to want to avoid those places or activities that SEEM to have caused the anxiety. So, you really limit your driving and try not to go out too much for fear of the anxiety episode returning. This seems reasonable at the time, but only serves to make you feel more fragile and at risk – so that caveman part of your brain stays on high alert looking for any signs of danger, and is likely to over-react to otherwise minor incidents. Everything feels scary and dangerous now.
Treating Stress and Anxiety
Because anxiety and stress are two different things, they need to be treated differently. The strategies to manage stress ARE helpful in managing anxiety, but may not be enough. Stress can often be managed via various relaxation techniques. This includes practices like meditation, deep breathing exercises, etc.
Practicing mindfulness, or simply talking to someone about your stress can also make a big difference.
If you’re dealing with anxiety, however, treatment is different. Anxiety doesn’t go away on its own once it’s taken over your life. In the beginning stages, anxiety may respond very well to the same treatment approaches as stress management. However, if it lingers around, you will need additional strategies – identifying how your thought patterns and behavior patterns may be making you feel worse and not better. If your sleep, concentration, work, or relationships are affected, which is very common, you may benefit from specific strategies to target these as well.
Because anxiety can be so crippling, you may need medication, especially to help the physical effects. But, one of the best things you can do if you’re struggling with anxiety is to attend counseling. A therapist can help you to identify the triggers causing your anxiety. From there, you can learn skills to handle those triggers, and overcome your anxious thoughts.
If you feel like your life is overwhelming, don’t continue to suffer as things get worse. Whether you are struggling with stress or anxiety, and you need help to manage the situation, please contact me.
Together, we’ll be able to discover if what you’re dealing with is more than just stress. If you do have anxiety, we can start identifying the underlying causes so you can begin to take back your life once more.
You can request a specific appointment time that fits your schedule. Once confirmed, you can complete all New Patient Intake paperwork online as well.
*** The tips offered in this article are for general information and should not be considered medical or psychological advice. For more personalized recommendations appropriate to your individual situation, please contact us or obtain professional guidance.
Related Articles on Anxiety & Stress
Peace is Possible! 5 Tips to Cope With Anxious Feelings
When Anxiety Takes Over: Recognizing a Panic Attack
Tips to Save Your Friendships if Anxiety Makes You Cancel Plans A Lot
The Neurology of How Slower Breathing Calms You Down
