Stress vs Anxiety: The differences explained
We’ve all felt the tightening and heart-thumping effects of stress - be it job stress, financial stress, or being pulled over for driving too fast. Yet many individuals confuse stress and anxiety, which are two very different responses.
Below the differentiators between common stress and anxiety are discussed, which can turn into an attack or chronic mental disorder if not managed appropriately.
1. What is Stress?
Stress results when we are overcome with life’s pressures such as a work deadline, rushing between appointments, or managing a home crisis. It causes the sudden release of adrenaline, a hormone that negatively impacts the mood and emotions, and elevates the blood pressure.
2. What is Anxiety?
Anxiety can result from being put under stress and is more significant than just feeling stressed and worried. It’s common to feel stressed or worried, but once the ‘stressor’ has been removed, these feelings should pass. Anxiety is when these feelings do not go away and are constant. It can make daily life and routine tasks, seem overwhelming and hard to deal with.
Psychological symptoms such as intense fear, worry, and disabling dread can be experienced, Physical symptoms of anxiety such as jitters, chest pains, dizziness, shortness of breath, fainting, and panic attacks can literally incapacitate an individual.
3. What Commonly Causes Stress?
Stress is usually triggered by what is going on in your life. It can be a buildup of many pressures or activities in your life or even just one very stressful situation, such as a divorce.
When feeling stressed, it is common to feel negative emotions such as feelings of anger, frustration, crying, and nervousness. However, once the stress subsides (or you remove yourself from the stressful situation) so do the negative emotions.
4. What Causes Anxiety?
Mental health professionals differentiate stress from anxiety because anxiety continues even long after the stressor is removed (or you remove yourself from the stressful situation). An exact cause of anxiety is not identified by experts however it is believed genetics, personal history, environment and even diet can all play a role.
5. Stress – A visible threat
Sources of stress are typically visible or can be easily acknowledged by the affected individual. For instance, stress at work will cause a series of mild physical and emotional reactions compared to the stress we’d feel if we were mugged on the street. The later response would involve more fear and threat motivated and our fight or flight response would react more intensely.
6. Anxiety’s Sneak Attack
Whilst anxiety can set in when we encounter a stressful situation such as being mugged). Anxiety most often occurs without any visible stressor and can strike chronically and suddenly at the most inopportune moments (i.e., on a social outing), without any explanatory reason, resulting in an anxiety attack.
7. Common Reactions to Stress
When feeling stressed or in a stressful situation, the adrenal glands will secrete adrenaline hormone and the fight or flight response kicks in causing a rise in blood pressure, an elevated heart beat, dilated pupils, perspiration, tense muscles, headache, and irritability.
Once the ‘stressor’ has been removed, these symptoms will subside.
8. Reactions to Anxiety
The reaction to anxiety, however, can differ from person to person and linger long after the source of stress is removed (or occur for no apparent reason at all). However, many anxiety sufferers note the following reactions to anxiety:
Below the differentiators between common stress and anxiety are discussed, which can turn into an attack or chronic mental disorder if not managed appropriately.
1. What is Stress?
Stress results when we are overcome with life’s pressures such as a work deadline, rushing between appointments, or managing a home crisis. It causes the sudden release of adrenaline, a hormone that negatively impacts the mood and emotions, and elevates the blood pressure.
2. What is Anxiety?
Anxiety can result from being put under stress and is more significant than just feeling stressed and worried. It’s common to feel stressed or worried, but once the ‘stressor’ has been removed, these feelings should pass. Anxiety is when these feelings do not go away and are constant. It can make daily life and routine tasks, seem overwhelming and hard to deal with.
Psychological symptoms such as intense fear, worry, and disabling dread can be experienced, Physical symptoms of anxiety such as jitters, chest pains, dizziness, shortness of breath, fainting, and panic attacks can literally incapacitate an individual.
3. What Commonly Causes Stress?
Stress is usually triggered by what is going on in your life. It can be a buildup of many pressures or activities in your life or even just one very stressful situation, such as a divorce.
When feeling stressed, it is common to feel negative emotions such as feelings of anger, frustration, crying, and nervousness. However, once the stress subsides (or you remove yourself from the stressful situation) so do the negative emotions.
4. What Causes Anxiety?
Mental health professionals differentiate stress from anxiety because anxiety continues even long after the stressor is removed (or you remove yourself from the stressful situation). An exact cause of anxiety is not identified by experts however it is believed genetics, personal history, environment and even diet can all play a role.
5. Stress – A visible threat
Sources of stress are typically visible or can be easily acknowledged by the affected individual. For instance, stress at work will cause a series of mild physical and emotional reactions compared to the stress we’d feel if we were mugged on the street. The later response would involve more fear and threat motivated and our fight or flight response would react more intensely.
6. Anxiety’s Sneak Attack
Whilst anxiety can set in when we encounter a stressful situation such as being mugged). Anxiety most often occurs without any visible stressor and can strike chronically and suddenly at the most inopportune moments (i.e., on a social outing), without any explanatory reason, resulting in an anxiety attack.
7. Common Reactions to Stress
When feeling stressed or in a stressful situation, the adrenal glands will secrete adrenaline hormone and the fight or flight response kicks in causing a rise in blood pressure, an elevated heart beat, dilated pupils, perspiration, tense muscles, headache, and irritability.
Once the ‘stressor’ has been removed, these symptoms will subside.
8. Reactions to Anxiety
The reaction to anxiety, however, can differ from person to person and linger long after the source of stress is removed (or occur for no apparent reason at all). However, many anxiety sufferers note the following reactions to anxiety:
- A feeling of impending doom
- Intense fear or panic
- The urge to escape
- Tightening of the throat
- Shortness of breath
- Flushing to the face and neck
- Confusion, lightheadedness, unsteadiness or vertigo
- Chest and head tightness
- Hot and cold chills
- Jitters
- Nausea
- Sweating
- Rapid heart beat
- Fainting or vomiting
More about Stress and Anxiety:
- 10 Startling Symptoms of Stress
- Stress vs anxiety: The Differences Explained
- Workplace Stressors and how to deal with them
- High Anxiety: Six Common Realities of Panic Attacks and Panic Disorder
- Effective Relaxation Tips