The Difference Between Stress & Anxiety
If you struggle to understand the difference between stress and anxiety, you aren’t alone. Both of these are emotional responses that we all experience from time to time. The line between them is easily blurred because the two often go hand and hand — but they are not the same thing, either.
A good way to understand this difference is: stress is a response to an external trigger, while anxiety is an internal response to stress.
Understanding Stress
Stress is a feeling of tension — physical or emotional — that can result from any situation, event, or thought that makes you feel nervous, frustrated, or angry. A stress-triggering event can be as serious as losing a loved one, to a change in one’s role at work.
Your stress response is a normal mental and physical reaction that, believe it or not, is meant to help you cope with these situations. When you encounter a stressful trigger, your brain signals to your body to release stress hormones that prepare you to react quickly. Everything from your heart rate to your breathing picks up speed.
Like the time you were racing the clock to finish a test or project on time, despite how uncomfortable it was when your palms began to sweat? That was stress’s way of helping you. But that was just one test. Our stress response is only meant to be a temporary response to something that challenges us.
Imagine what would happen to your mind and body if your stress responses were to continue firing. Persistent stress can lead to all kinds of health problems, including conditions like anxiety.
Understanding Anxiety
Anxiety is the point where persistent stress paves the way for excessive worries. Like stress, it is also a normal response — it’s only problematic when it becomes your normal, go-to response.
Several symptoms of stress and anxiety, such as fatigue, insomnia, trouble focusing, and irritability, are largely the same. The issue with anxiety is that it will stick around even when there is no stressor.
Say you were to take whatever caused you to stress out of the picture. You likely have anxiety if you still feel overwhelmed. That said, emotionally distressing reactions caused by anxiety will often occur excessively and unexpectedly. Not only that, but you can have anxious reactions that you can in no way connect to your reality.
Anxiety vs. Stress Recap: Which Am I Dealing With?
Even once you have overcome a challenging situation, it may still cause you to worry about a similar event occurring again. But if you can’t stop thinking about it, or it causes you to worry excessively, even in unrelated areas of your life, you may have anxiety.
Suppose you are caught in the aftermath of a tough emotional experience, such as a breakup or a failed class. In that case, you might be experiencing a prolonged period of high stress. If your stress doesn’t propel you to move forward, but instead begins to trigger feelings of apprehension or dread even if nothing else significant happens, this could be a sign of anxiety.
If you are going through a difficult time or change in life, but find your day is manageable overall, this is likely stress. If you feel so overwhelmed that you cannot function and perform daily tasks, this can indicate anxiety.
It’s crazy to think how a natural temporary response can potentially have such a serious long-term impact. That said, it doesn’t have to. Whether you are dealing with stress, or anxiety, or aren’t really sure, a therapist can help you get down to the bottom of it and teach you healthy ways to cope.
Remember: this post is for informational purposes only and may not be the best fit for you and your personal situation. It shall not be construed as legal, financial, or medical advice. The information and education provided here is not intended or implied to supplement or replace professional advice of your own attorney, accountant, physician, or financial advisor. Always check with your own physician, attorney, financial advisor, accountant, or other business or medical professional before trying or implementing any information read here.
