Difference between anxiety and stress

We, as humans, have an in-built fight-or-flight response to stressful and anxiety-inducing situations. This response is our body’s natural reaction to external threats or danger. The main purpose of why we feel stressed or anxious in the first place is to remain focused, alert, and stay ready when danger comes knocking.

However, lately, we’ve been extremely confused with the usage of these terms. Often we feel stressed but think that we have anxiety. Many times, it’s anxiety that we feel but our mind misdiagnoses it as stress. To help you truly gauge the anxiety and stress difference, we’ve curated a detailed guide.

Scan through it to get well-adept of what is the difference between stress vs anxiety disorder.

What are stress and anxiety? How do they differ from one another?

Stress, in general, lasts for a short amount of time and is in response to recognisable danger or threat. For reference, work deadlines, financial troubles, traffic jams, health problems, poor time management, and more. However, if the stress is not treated or catered to in due time, it can lead to chronic stress conditions.

Anxiety, on the other hand, lingers for a long amount of time and does not have any identifiable trigger. It’s basically you overthinking about a situation and working up your mind completely. Here, there is no external threat to which your body responds, it’s our assumptions, overthinking, need to control outcomes, and uncontrolled imagination that cause anxiety. For reference, public speaking and worrying too much about what others will think about your actions.

This is the answer to your question “What is the difference between stress and anxiety?”

What are the symptoms of stress and anxiety?

To gauge a clear understanding of the difference between anxiety and stress, let’s break down what the symptoms for both of them look like.

Stress symptoms include:

• Muscle tension
• Dizziness
• Sleep issues
• Irritability
• Anger
• Profuse sweating
• Overwhelmed feeling
• Headaches
• Appetite change
• High heart rate
• Digestive issues comprising diarrhea and nausea

Anxiety symptoms include:

• A sense of imminent danger
• Numbness or tingling
• Feeling an intense pain in the stomach
• Brain fog

What causes stress and anxiety?

Let’s dig deep into the causes of anxiety and stress to uncover another layer & get a deeper understanding.

Causes of stress

• Relocating
• Starting a new job or school
• Experiencing the death of a family member or seeing your loved ones injured
• Long to-do list of tasks to cover over the weekend
• Working in tight timelines

Causes of anxiety

• Overthinking and assumptions
• Inability to tackle outcomes as and when they come
• Financial difficulties or relationship problems
• Alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, and other addictions
• Genetic
• Chronic stress due to work or life

How to tell whether you're experiencing stress or anxiety?

For someone who lacks awareness, they might feel that anxiety and stress are the same. But, in reality, their meaning is quite different. So, how do you understand whether you’re experiencing stress or anxiety in a given situation? Let’s understand with an example.

Assume you’ve received a brief for a project from your manager. You’ve been assigned to conceptualise, strategise, and execute it end-to-end.

Now, in this situation, your day-to-day stress would look like -

• Meeting tight deadlines
• Supervising all the work and establishing seamless cross-functional collaboration
• Dealing with last-minute hiccups
• Juggling your work-life balance

In this same situation, anxiety would look like -

• Overthinking daily of the possibility of failure
• Worrying constantly about being judged negatively
• Scared or nervous about potential criticism from her boss
• Impact of a failed project on the career

One thing is clear, stress is defined from a realistic threat perspective while anxiety is born due to underconfidence and worrying too much about what if scenerios.

Ways to manage stress and anxiety?

Avoiding stress and anxiety at all costs should be our priority. However, practically, at one point or the other in your life, you might end up facing one or both of them at the same time. So, at such crucial juncture, dealing with it healthily is extremely crucial.

Here are some ways to manage anxiety and stress like a boss!

• Limit your alcohol & caffeine intake as they tend to aggravate even the minor symptoms.
• Get good sleep. Don’t compromise on your bedtime. Take 6 to 8 hours of sleep daily.
• Learn all the stress management tips to ensure you know how to unwind the right way.
• Exercise regularly, meditate daily, and stay engaged in physical activity.
• Take breaks regularly and spend time with your loved ones.
• Give your cognitive functions a break and detox digitally for a while.
• Talk to your trusted loved ones and vent out whatever is bothering you.

The Way Forward

While it’s okay to feel stressed and anxious, dwelling in it for long periods can cause detrimental effects. It’s crucial to be cognisant that these feelings can cause negative consequences. You can also trust safe, efficacious supplements such as three60 De-Stress & Chill gummies that calm your mind & help you relax. It reduces your cortisol levels and nips stress & anxiety in the bud.

So, manage your well-being like a pro and stay ahead of stress & anxiety by taking the right, effective steps daily.

FAQs

Q) Can stress be mistaken for anxiety?

A) Stress and anxiety are often confused with one another as they are two different sides of the same coin. One must know the key difference between anxiety and stress that the former lasts for a long time and has no identifiable trigger while the latter lasts for a short period of time and has a recognisable trigger.

Q) Can you have anxiety without stress?

A) Yes, it is possible to have anxiety even when you’re not stressed. The condition is known as Hyperstimulation where anxiety symptoms do occur but you won’t feel stressed.

Q) What are the signs of stress and anxiety?

A) Some key signs of stress are muscle tension, headaches, irritability, mood swings, and fatigue. On the other hand, some key signs that you might be going through anxiety are constant worry, difficulty concentrating, restlessness, and sleep disturbances.