Anxiety vs. Stress: Knowing the Difference

Stress and anxiety are usually paired together or used interchangeably, but it is possible to experience stress without anxiety and vice versa. While stress can feed anxiety, they are two very different things. Stress is our bodies’ response to pressure, insecurity, and demand and is generally a reaction to a specific situation or relationship dynamic. Stress is generally time limited and associated with deadlines and decisions. Mild stress can be motivating and helpful by focusing the mind. When stress reaches an unhealthy level, it can cause headaches, muscle tension, repetitive thinking, and insomnia. These are the same physical reactions we experience when anxious, but stress tends to be more time and situation limited whereas anxiety is much broader. Anxiety lingers beyond a specific event or situation. With anxiety, once the triggering event has passed, the feeling of unease persists leading to replaying it in our mind for weeks, months, or even years. Anxiety often makes it feel impossible to move on.

Anxiety distorts cause and effect and puts everything under a magnifying glass. Anxiety touches every aspect of life and is not limited to a specific dynamic or relationship and casts everything in a negative and dangerous light, disturbing our ability to experience peace of mind. In addition to the symptoms that overlap with stress, anxiety can cause a racing heartbeat, dizziness, a clammy feeling, ringing in the ears, cloudy thinking, and restlessness. Anxiety is like a slight buzzing in the background that is almost always present. Anxiety is heavier, harder to control, and far more disruptive to daily life than stress is. Both stress and anxiety should not be left to linger. Both have a negative impact on relationships and psychical health. Knowing the difference between stress and anxiety can allow you to shortcut the negative feedback loop. There are some similarities to coping with both but also some key differences. Stress is much more responsive to practical solutions such as making a to do list, breaking projects down into smaller parts, or talking things over with a friend or partner.

Anxiety on the other hand requires us to first ground ourselves. Finding the right grounding technique for you will take trial and error. For some, mindfulness, tapping, or meditation works. For others, using the 5-4-3-2-1 method, visualization, or personification works. Knowing that finding the right grounding technique for you is a process will help stave off frustration. A good grounding technique will shift your focus away from intrusive thoughts, creating space for you to regain your sense of safety. Once you have grounded yourself, then focus on one thing you can do to improve your situation. Focusing on one thing brings the problem and solution into manageable dimensions. Focusing on what you can change will highlight your talents and help you reclaim your power. We all have pockets of skills, and focusing on the positive aspects of your skills and how that can improve your life will reduce overall anxiety. Knowing the difference between stress and anxiety can help reduce both and have more good days than bad.