Recognize The Difference Between Stress And Anxiety

JAKARTA - Stress and anxiety (anxiety) are often considered the same thing, even though they have differences even though they both have an impact on physical and mental.

Experts say that stress mostly comes from external factors, while anxiety is more internal.

Indian clinical psychologist and founder of Talk To Me, Narendra Kinger said that although a person can trigger stress from within himself through negative self-talk, pessimism, or the need for perfectionism, it still comes from external factors.

"Too many responsibilities or high-risk work projects can usually trigger a stress response. Anxiety, on the other hand, is largely internal and depends on how you react to stress," Kinger said.

In many cases, a person who has successfully eliminated it is still possible to feel overwhelmed or depressed. This feeling is known as anxiety.

"It's an overreaction or response to certain situations. If the worry and distress you feel in certain situations are unusual, excessive, or lasts longer than most other people, it's probably anxiety rather than stress," says Kinger.

Dr. Karthiyayini Mahadevan, Head of Health and Welfare at Columbia Pacific Communities, explained that anxiety is a psychological reaction to any changes that occur. This reaction generally arises from fear in response to unconditioned or unexpected circumstances.

"The overwhelming reaction to stress brings anxiety on an emotional level. Stress is very important to keep a spark of life while anxiety consumes life," says Mahadevan.

Reason

Regarding stress, there are always external triggering factors. While anxiety does not need to be a trigger, it will arise because of worry about something thought related to what will happen in the future.

"Very often, what we worry about may not happen, but thinking about it happening causes us to become anxious and panicked," says Dr. Shireen Stephen (Ph.D.), counseling psychologist, Mind Talk, Cadabams Hospital, Bengaluru.

Dr. Stephen then gives an example to differentiate between stress and anxiety. Stress is the pressure you may experience while making a presentation at a team meeting or to complete a project on time.

Anxiety is the worry that a presentation might not go well or that a project might not be completed on time.

According to Dr. Stephen, another difference is a matter of duration. Stress lasts until the event is resolved but anxiety can last a long time and last for a very long time.

Symptom

Symptoms of stress include moodiness, irritability or anger, feeling overwhelmed, light-headed, lonely, nauseated, and a general feeling of unhappiness. While anxiety includes feelings of restlessness, tension, nervousness, and general feelings of fear.

"Both stress and anxiety have common symptoms such as an increased heart rate, faster breathing, and stomach pain or constipation, but as you can see, they are different in all other aspects," explains Dr. Stephen.

How do stress and anxiety work?

Excessive anxiety or panic paralyzes a person so that they cannot carry out activities properly. While stress, although difficult to go through, it can be managed.

Mild anxiety, maybe not too noticeable but quite disturbing. Severe anxiety can seriously affect daily life.

Panic attacks are characteristic of panic disorder, a type of anxiety disorder. In addition, high levels of stress and anxiety in social situations may indicate social anxiety disorder.

One of the most common anxiety disorders is generalized anxiety.

Dr. J Mayurnath Reddy, consultant psychiatrist, Yashoda Hospitals Hyderabad said to identify whether a person has generalized anxiety disorder is the presence of symptoms such as excessive worrying and difficult to control that occurs almost daily for six months.

"Worries may jump from topic to topic," says Dr. Reddy.

According to Dr. Reddy, another type of anxiety is panic disorder, which is characterized by sudden attacks of anxiety that can make a person sweat, dizzy, and breathless.

Anxiety can also manifest as a specific phobia (such as a fear of flying) or as social anxiety, which is characterized by a widespread fear of social situations.

How to overcome

Physical activity, a nutritious diet, and good sleep habits are the starting points for controlling these symptoms. However, if this does not show a change then it is necessary to consider consulting an expert.

In addition, there are also several actions that can help a person to cope with milder, more focused, or short-term anxiety disorders, such as stress management or managing stress.

Relaxation techniques, meditation, deep breathing exercises, long baths, rest in the dark, and yoga interventions to replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts.

Make a list of negative thoughts that can cause anxiety and on the other hand, also write down other things that contain positive things. Creating a mental picture of successfully confronting and conquering a particular fear can also be beneficial if the anxiety symptoms are related to a specific cause, such as with a phobia.

The support of the closest person is also able to overcome anxiety. Support group services may be available locally and online.

Do not forget to do physical activity to release chemicals in the brain that trigger positive feelings. Finally, counseling is a great way to deal with anxiety. This can be cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), psychotherapy, or a combination of therapies.

Another potential treatment is exposure therapy, which involves a person dealing with anxiety triggers in a safe and controlled way to break the cycle of fear.