Is it stress or anxiety?

Although stress and anxiety are often used interchangeably, they are, in fact, very different experiences.

When we feel stress or anxiety, we may experience a rise in heart rate, sweating, tightness in the chest, challenges in focusing or sleeping, headaches, or a loss of appetite. Essentially, our body gets into fight-or-flight mode as a physiological response to dangers perceived.

When fight-or-flight mode is activated, it puts us on high alert to keep us safe from threats. While this is our body’s response in simply trying to protect us, it also confuses our ability to discern between stress and anxiety.

The difference between stress and anxiety - and what you can do about them

Stress is a natural sensation that occurs when we’re feeling overwhelmed. It’s the feeling of emotional strain and pressure. A little bit of stress positively serves as motivation and adaptation to the world around us, helping us achieve our goals. However, prolonged stress can become overwhelming and challenging to cope with. This is when it may turn into anxiety.

Anxiety is the feeling of constant worry or concern to the point of affecting how we would normally function on a day-to-day basis. This makes us feel intense fear despite the absence of any real danger, which may be perceived. This reaction causes fatigue and leads to a sense of emotional paralysis, so we may have more difficulty completing even basic tasks and responsibilities.

It’s helpful to consider some more nuanced symptoms that are only present in anxiety:

• Shallow or rapid breathing
• Avoidance (avoiding a situation or place due to fears it may trigger anxiety)
• Phobias (extreme fears of objects, situations, or living things that are out of proportion with the risk of harm. E.g. phobia of spiders, crowded areas, germs, etc.)
• Feelings of panic
• Inability to control thoughts and worry
• Inability to focus on anything other than what may trigger the anxiety
• Recurring thoughts of concern
• Overwhelming feelings of hopelessness or danger
• Depression

How to know when you’re experiencing “too much” anxiety

Still trying to figure out if you’re experiencing stress or anxiety? Here’s how to tell the symptoms apart:

Shared by anxiety and stress

• Increase in our heart rate
• Sweating
• Tightness in chest
• Challenges focusing
• Challenges falling asleep/staying asleep
• Loss of appetite
• Headaches

Only stress

• Typically more short-term and over once the stressor is gone.
• Ability to cope
• Can motivate us, helps us adapt, and react to the world around us

Only anxiety

• Typically more long-term
• Constant worry and fear in the absence of threat
• Interrupts ability to go about your day
• Shallow or rapid breathing
• Avoidance
• Phobias
• Panic
• Inability to control thoughts and worry
• Inability to focus on anything other than what may trigger the anxiety
• Recurring thoughts of concern
• Overwhelming feelings of hopelessness or danger
• Depression

Everyone experiences anxiety from time to time. However, if your anxiety feels so overpowering that it’s hard to go about your day, you experience frequent panic, and often avoid certain situations, people, or objects due to worry it may trigger anxiety, it might be a good idea to speak to a doctor or mental health professional.

This article is brought to you by Maple in partnership with Shift Collab.