9 Reasons Why Stress Is Not Anxiety
One of the biggest misconceptions about anxiety is that anxiety is stress and stress is anxiety. Stress and anxiety are actually two completely separate things. It’s important to understand these differences so that you can effectively treat your anxiety symptoms in a targeted way.
1. Anxiety is a Diagnosis
One of the biggest differences between stress and anxiety is that anxiety is a diagnosis – stress isn’t. While your doctor can “diagnose” you with stress related symptoms, stress isn’t a mental illness or a medical condition. Instead, it’s a feeling of emotional or physical tension. Anxiety is a mental disorder.
2. Anxiety Isn’t a Symptom of Stress
While stress can be a symptom of anxiety, anxiety is not a symptom of stress. Sure, you can feel anxious when you’re stressed out but you will not experience anxiety in the way anxiety sufferers do because it is not the same thing.
3. You Can Have Anxiety Without Stress
One of the biggest differences between stress and anxiety is that you can have anxiety without stress. Feelings of emotional and physical tension can be a symptom, and stress can follow being anxious and suffering from anxiety but you can have anxiety without stress. It is possible to live a completely stress-free life and still suffer from anxiety.
4. Everyone Experiences Stress
Another huge difference between stress and anxiety is that everyone experiences stress. It’s completely natural. However, not everyone experiences anxiety. Same thing – everyone feels stress, not everyone who is feeling stressed experiences anxiety.
5. “Anxious” is a Feeling, Anxiety Isn’t
Many of these misconceptions about the term ‘anxiety’ stem from the confusion between being anxious and having an anxiety condition. Being anxious is a feeling that is usually in response to feeling uneasy or worried about something eg. Coronavirus or a job interview. Anxiety is actually a mental illness that causes phobias, irrational fears, heart palpitations, panic attacks etc.
6. Anxiety Stems from Fear
Stress and anxiety aren’t the same thing for many reasons but this one truly sets it in stone. Anxiety stems from fear, whereas stress stems from external situations – two totally opposite things. Anxiety impacts on the quality of life and day-to-day functioning.
7. Anxiety is Accompanied With Feelings of Impending Doom
When you’re stressed, you don’t feel like the entire world is closing in on you and that life will be over with a blink of your eye. However, anxiety is almost always accompanied with this very feeling – the feeling of impending doom and a sense of being disconnected from the world. Catastrophising is a common trait of anxiety.
8. Anxiety Keeps Hanging Around After The Problem Is Resolved
Stress is usually the result of reacting to external pressures - anxiety is not. Anxiety often comes on with no rhyme or reason. Whilst stress typically dissipates once the problem is resolved, anxiety continues on long after even when there’s nothing stressful or upsetting going on.
9. Panic Attacks are a Symptom of Anxiety, Not Stress
You simply will never have a panic attack because you’re too stressed out. However, the same can’t be said about anxiety. Experiencing full-blown panic attacks isn’t uncommon when it comes to anxiety.
If you think you may have a anxiety disorder and have had any or some of the following symptoms:
Physical: panic attacks, hot and cold flushes, racing heart, tightening of the chest, quick breathing, restlessness, or feeling tense, wound up and edgy
Psychological: excessive fear, worry, catastrophising, or obsessive thinking
Behavioural: avoidance of situations that make you feel anxious which can impact on study, work or social life
you might like to think about seeking a natural approach. Research reviews have found that acupuncture can effectively relieve depression and anxiety, both alone and alongside other treatments. Studies also demonstrate a rise in mood-regulating neurotransmitters (brain chemicals), such as dopamine and noradrenaline, as well as a reduction in inflammation. Natural therapies have no side effects and are non additive. Treatments would incorporate elements of acupuncture, nutrition, herbs, supplements, and life coaching.
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Yin Studio:
Founded in 2006 by Cathy Bell, Yin Studio has become a sought-after health and wellness clinic, known for its warm, inviting atmosphere and sincere, compassionate care for its patients.
Cathy Bell provides results-oriented, natural wellness care for people of all ages. Her goal with each patient is a long-term, self-sustained shift in core factors that determine health and wellness. These core factors bridge all levels of being — physical, psychological, even spiritual.
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