Anxiety Series: Part 1. Just What Is Anxiety, Anyway?
This is the first in a series of quick fire posts about anxiety.
“I’m so anxious and stressed! What’s the Difference?”
Anxiety is often confused with stress, which is understandable. They both tend to show up during stressful events and can often feel very similar. However, there are key distinctions, which, although seemingly subtle, have very important differences.
Stress Defined
Stress is something that happens in response to an external event or issue, that is generally accepted as being stressful. However, people who are ‘stressed out’ are generally in control of their feelings, and subsequently, their behavior as well. They can choose how they respond in any given situation; whereas anxiety often ends up controlling the people who experience it. Stress also typically subsides once external issues (the situation causing it) are resolved.
This doesn’t mean that stress is not serious or that it should be ignored. When chronic, stress can turn into anxiety, which, if not addressed, can lead to something more serious. And chronic stress has been documented as a leading risk factor for developing any number of medical conditions, ranging from high blood pressure to seizure disorder, and even cancer.
Anxiety Defined
In contrast, Anxiety is a person’s own internal reaction to their subjective experience of stress. Meaning, that it may or may not be caused by anything; and if it is, it is often out of proportion with what caused it. Although there is usually a reason or trigger, people who experience anxiety don’t always know what is causing it. So, with or without a trigger, they might wake up in the morning with their heart racing and an impending feeling of ‘doom’.
Because of this, they have less control and are more prone to reacting out of fear as opposed to responding in a productive way. Like stress, anxiety is a full body experience that involves feeling ‘amped up’ or on-edge and worried. With anxiety, however, the feelings are typically more severe, last longer and almost always include generous amounts of fear to the point of doom, overwhelm, and agitation. This is because anxiety originates from inside oneself, which is itself, an extremely stressful experience.
Wrapping it Up
Stress is a reasonable response to external circumstances that are generally accepted as being ‘stressful’; while anxiety is an internal state of stress that is more severe, sometimes chronic, and doesn’t necessarily need a trigger. In general, stress can be managed while anxiety is more serious and warrants careful attention.
The contents of this blog are for informational purposes only. This blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment that can be provided by your own mental health practitioner. If you have any specific concerns about your mental health, you should consult your doctor and you should not delay seeking medical advice, or treatment for your mental health, because of information on this blog.
© Counseling Works NYC
Sabrina Tropper, LMHC
Sabrina Tropper, LMHC is a therapist and the founder of Counseling Works NYC. She works with individuals in New York who are experiencing relationship troubles, life transitions, or trauma.