Learn the difference between stress and anxiety.
The difference between stress and anxiety can be subtle. Although both are emotional responses, stress is usually caused by an external trigger, while anxiety is a little different. Here’s what we need to know:
The trigger can be short-term, such as a deadline to solve a project at work, or long-term, such as the inability to work, discrimination or chronic illness. People under stress experience mental and physical symptoms such as irritability, anger, fatigue, muscle pain, digestive and/or sleep disturbances.
Anxiety, on the other hand, is defined by persistent, excessive worry that does not go away even in the absence of a stressor. Anxiety leads to an almost identical set of symptoms, similar to those of stress: insomnia, difficulty concentrating, fatigue, muscle tension and irritability.
Both mild stress and mild anxiety respond well to similar coping mechanisms. Physical activity, a nutritious and varied diet, and regular sleep are a good place to start, but there are other coping mechanisms available.
How do you manage stress and anxiety?
Now that you understand the difference between stress and anxiety, here’s how you can learn to manage them. If the stress or anxiety you are experiencing does not respond to these management techniques, or if you feel that either the stress or the anxiety is affecting your daily functioning or mood, you may want to consider seeing a psychologist . It can help you better understand and integrate the situations you face, and it can also provide you with additional coping tools. For example, a psychologist can help you determine whether or not you have an anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders differ from short-term feelings of anxiety in their severity and duration: anxiety usually persists for months and negatively affects mood and functioning. Some anxiety disorders, such as agoraphobia (fear of public or open spaces), can cause the person concerned to avoid once-enjoyable activities, or even make it difficult to keep a job.
Generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder
One of the most common anxiety disorders is generalized anxiety disorder. To identify whether someone has generalized anxiety disorder, a clinician will watch for symptoms such as excessive, difficult-to-control worry that occurs most days over a six-month period. Worry can jump from one topic to another. Generalized anxiety disorder is also accompanied by physical symptoms of anxiety.
Another type of anxiety disorder is panic disorder, often marked by sudden attacks of anxiety that can cause symptoms such as tachycardia, inability to breathe normally, excessive sweating, etc. Anxiety can also manifest as specific phobias (such as the fear of flying) or as social anxiety, which is marked by a pervasive fear of social situations.
Anxiety disorders can be treated with psychotherapy, medication, or a combination of the two. Therapeutic approaches can be cognitive-behavioral therapy (which focuses on changing maladaptive thought patterns related to anxiety), integrative therapy (which can help bring awareness to the cause of anxiety), or other types of therapeutic approaches. Another potential treatment is exposure therapy, which involves confronting anxiety triggers in a safe and controlled way to break the cycle of fear around the trigger.