Facing a Challenge? Know How Stress and Anxiety Differ

When we say “I feel stressed” or “I feel anxious”, what do we actually mean?

Life inevitably presents us with challenges, and it is common to experience feelings of stress and anxiety in response. Psychological stress and anxiety are emotions and we can experience them to varying degrees.

Put simply, stress is characterised by feeling a sense of overwhelm, whereas anxiety is characterised by feeling a sense of fear that something bad is going to happen. Stress and anxiety often co-occur, with stressful events often setting off anxiety.

By increasing our understanding and awareness of psychological stress and anxiety, we can take steps to better manage them and care for our emotional wellbeing.

So, let’s break down the differences.

What is psychological stress?

When we think we can’t manage

Psychological stress is an emotional response we have when we view a situation as a threat to our personal wellbeing and as being beyond our ability to cope. It is usually set off by external events like being made redundant, high interest rates or caring for a sick elderly parent.

Stress arises due to an interaction between the person and situation. This means that stress is not solely caused by the situation itself, but by the interaction between the individual and situation. So you could have two people face the same situation where one feels stressed and the other does not.

For example, two colleagues, Sarah and John, are given a tight deadline to complete a project. Sarah feels stressed because she thinks the deadline is too short and she won’t be able to finish on time. John, on the other hand, feels confident because he has handled similar deadlines before and believes he can manage his time effectively to meet the deadline. In this situation, Sarah feels stressed while John doesn’t, illustrating how stress depends on individual perceptions and experiences.

Stress is characterised by:

• Feeling a sense of overwhelm

Common stress related behaviours include:

• Snapping at others
• Not being in the present moment
• Difficulty concentrating
• Forgetfulness
• Using unhealthy coping habits (e.g., alcohol or drugs, gambling, food)

Typical stress related thoughts include:

• “I can’t handle this”
• “I have too much on my plate”
• “This is just too much pressure”

What is anxiety?

Concern about bad things happening

Anxiety is a complex emotional state where we feel a sense of fear, unease and dread that something bad is going to happen in the future. It is usually set off by both external events and internal factors like thoughts of being judged by others, unrealistic expectations or catastrophic thinking.

For example, Emily is preparing for an important job interview. Despite having a strong resume and relevant experience, she feels considerably anxious. She worries about stumbling over her words and not making a good impression. As a result, she can’t sleep well the night before and finds herself constantly reviewing her answers and practicing her responses, even though she has prepared thoroughly. This anxiety impacts her ability to focus and relax during her interview, affecting the quality of her interview responses and ability to connect well with the interviewers.

Anxiety is characterised by:

• Feeling a sense of fear that something bad is going to happen

Common anxiety related behaviours include:

• Avoidance
• Escaping discomfort
• Feeling restless
• A heightened state of alertness
• Over-preparation

Typical anxiety related thoughts include:

• “What if I fail?”
• “What if I’m not good enough?”
• “I’ll never find someone who loves me”

Coping with stress and anxiety

There are many coping skills that can be used to manage both stress and anxiety such as challenging one’s thoughts, communicating effectively, problem-solving, relaxation exercises and setting appropriate personal limits with others.

Also, both stress and anxiety can activate the body’s threat response, commonly known as the fight-or-flight response. This is where our body reacts automatically when it senses danger, regardless if the danger is real or ‘thought’ to be real. Our body prepares us to act, with physical symptoms arising like a pounding heart, fast breathing, sweaty palms, feeling nauseous, tense muscles and feeling light headed. For this reason, it is important to find ways to calm ourselves physically when experiencing stress and anxiety.

Then there are coping skills that are more specific to each emotional response. For instance, breaking down large goals into smaller bite-size tasks to help reduce overwhelm when feeling stressed. With anxiety, gradually approaching feared situations rather than escaping and avoiding them.

The good news is that coping skills can be learnt. Although we may not be able to control the situations we encounter, we can control our reactions. By doing so, we can enhance our ability to cope with life’s challenging moments.

While feeling stressed and anxious now and then is not a disorder, persistent and intense levels can increase the risk of developing more serious psychological conditions, such as anxiety disorders, depression, or addiction. When people are experiencing intense levels of stress and anxiety, where they typically find it difficult to handle everyday activities at home or work, it is important that they consult their doctor for assessment and support.

If you are facing a current life challenge, where you are able to function fairly okay in your day-to-day life, and feel you could benefit from an emotionally supportive space to learn ways to ease your stress and anxiety, I provide individual therapy to adults to address these challenges. To get in touch to see how we can help or if we would be a good fit, visit us at: https://drlinda.au/getstarted