People refer to anxiety and stress when describing their feelings and it can often mix the two. Whilst both are related there is a difference and it is good to know what these are in order to combat any symptoms you may develop.
First of all it is good to know the difference, Stress is caused by external factors such as work or relationships. It will be something that applies pressure to your normal daily life. Anxiety on the other hand is caused by internal factors like worry or excessive thoughts. It is caused by a trigger and sometimes that trigger can be stress but it can also be something like a past experience.
Stress
As mentioned, stress is cause by external factors. These are things that mean you have to push yourself harder you feel out of control of or applied by someone or something you encounter in your day to day life.
Stress will present itself with physical symptoms, you may get a headache, stomach ache, restlessness, muscle tension and sleeplessness etc. the good thing about this is that it is ore easy to recognise and when you start to feel any of these symptoms you may be able to figure out what your stressor is. That way you can remove it from your life or control it enough that it lessens.
Stress is also known to have 2 stages, acute stress and chronic stress. Acute stress is the onset of the stress and this is associated with the mild effects it may have such as that butterfly feeling in the pit of your stomach, high heart rate, faster breathing and light headedness. This happens because of the bodies fight or flight reaction it is preparing your survival instinct and can often be a warning that you are not as ‘OK’ with something subconsciously as you first thought.
To reduce stress, you can take a break, leave the situation or find a solution to a problem however if this does not happen you may start to feel chronic stress. Chronic stress is when these symptoms remain for a longer period of time meaning digestive issues, high blood pressure, insomnia and others issue that you may have to seek medical advice to treat. As before the answer to treating this is to step away from the situation, remove it and be aware of what it is to avoid in the future.
Anxiety
Anxiety is an emotional response of the body which can be triggered by Stress and the fight or flight reaction. In the modern research it looks into a third response which is ‘freeze’. This means you are less able to recognise and deal with anxiety and this is due to it being internal factors effecting how you feel.
It is excessive thoughts, overthinking, judging yourself or past situations or worrying about things that could happen in the future although you have no real reason to think this. Past experiences, stress or another trigger have wires your brain into feeling anxious about certain situations. This can lead on to further thoughts such as self-criticism, being afraid or constant worry.
It is known that anxiety is like our brains own pain receptor so much like if you pinch yourself it hurts so you stop. Anxiety is telling you that something is not right and you need to act or change something. It is easier said than done as anxiety can often impair critical thinking, this can mean it best to get others to help such as a friend to talk to or a therapist.
The most important thing you can do for either is become more self-aware, know your triggers and access situations to know how to avoid or adapt. Put you, your health and your minds health first.
