Stress and anxiety are two closely linked phenomena that tend to be confused. Throughout this article we are going to discuss the main differences that exist between the two.
Stress and anxiety responses can be healthy and promote adaptation. However, if they occur too frequently or intensely they can cause serious physical and psychological health problems.
Let’s start by defining both concepts:
What is anxiety?
Anxiety is defined as that response that causes our body to activate and launch defense mechanisms in the face of a specific circumstance.
Faced with certain situations, an emotional response is generated that will vary depending on the stimulus causing the anxiety. This may include feelings of fear, restlessness, nervousness, uneasiness…
Its symptoms can be psychological, cognitive, behavioral and social.
What is stress?
Stress occurs when the person does not have the necessary adaptive capacity to adjust to certain situations, is overwhelmed by circumstances and that is when stress responses are triggered, which can be emotional, cognitive and behavioral. It usually occurs due to external factors.
How to differentiate anxiety and stress?
- Because of its origin: while stress has a clear and identifiable origin, that of anxiety is more diffuse. In the case of anxiety, the person may experience sensations of fear or threat, but it is not necessary for there to be an objective event for it to be triggered.
- Due to the triggering factors: in the case of stress, these factors are externalwhile in the case of anxiety they are more internal, related to our cognitive plot, thoughts and sensations. There is a subjective fear.
- For the emotions they present: in stress, the predominant emotion is not fear, but rather worry that generates the triggering stimulus. This worry can lead to developing irritable behaviors, feelings of sadness and frustration for not being able to overcome a specific circumstance.
However, in anxiety the main emotion is fear to something negative that may happen. This leads to the anticipation of negative or catastrophic situations. - By the time of appearance: stress is located in the present, time becomes eternal while the person looks for an alternative to be able to face it. For its part, in the case of anxiety it is located in the futureas an anticipation of what may happen.
- By duration: Stress, since it is related to exogenous factors, disappears when the stressful stimulus ends or is overcome. As for the duration of anxiety, it is more complex, since irrational thoughts or unnecessary worries that the person has developed around an idea may also participate. Anxiety continues when the stress has already disappeared.
- Regarding the remission of symptoms: In stress, when the stressful stimulus disappears, the symptoms subside and the person returns to their usual state. On the other hand, anxiety tends to extend over time and remission depends on the subject’s reconstruction of reality.
- Regarding its objective intensity: In stress, the intensity corresponds to the importance of the triggering factor, while in the case of anxiety it is more irrationalmore subjective.
- Anxiety is a manifestation of stress: It is an emotional response or a symptom of it.
- Due to its severity: Anxiety is a more serious pathology and its severity is greater, since it can cause broader psychological disorders such as , , , etc. The severity of stress is lower, although it can cause or aggravate some organic diseases.
- Treatment: They require very different treatments. If stress lasts over time, psychotherapeutic treatment may consist of developing strategies to cope with stress. For its part, the treatment of anxiety may require combined psychological and/or pharmacological treatment.
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