You know how it feels…
You feel like you’re jumping out of your skin. Your heart may race or your thoughts swirl. Maybe you also get a stomachache or a headache. You might start crying or boiling with anger.
All of these signs are stress responses. And they can ruin your day… or last even longer.
But what’s behind those symptoms? Is it stress or anxiety?
Either way, you just want to feel better, to regain a sense of calm control.
Luckily, there’s one way to manage both. And it’s probably not what you think.
Stress vs. Anxiety (What’s the Difference?)
First, it’s worth understanding the differences between stress and anxiety.
The two are closely related, and sometimes intertwined. Anxiety can set off a stress response in your body. And stress can trigger feelings of anxiety.
The two may feel the same, but there is a key difference.
Stress comes from outside stressors, things like deadlines and bills and toddler tantrums. There’s a specific trigger present that causes the stress reaction.
Sometimes it’s super quick – like when you’re stressed by a bill and then you pay it. Sometimes it’s a longer-term stressor, like an illness. And when that stressor disappears, so does your stress.
Anxiety doesn’t always start with an identifiable stressor… and it can continue long after the stressor is gone. It’s characterized by unease, worry, and circling thoughts that don’t connect to a currently active stressor.
Here’s an example: you got a bill that you can’t afford to pay right now. And while that bill sits there unpaid, you worry about how it will affect your credit score. You’re afraid it will be sent to collections and you’ll get hounded by nasty bill collectors. You might worry about being in debt or eventually facing bankruptcy. But then you get a paycheck and pay the bill.
If you were experiencing stress, it would end there once the bill was paid. But with anxiety, the worrisome thoughts keep coming.
You may not even realize why you’re worried. And this feeling can happen even if you’re never late with a bill but you have a pervasive fear of going broke that doesn’t go away. It’s always there in the back of your mind, and sometimes takes centerstage for no clear reason. That’s anxiety.
And even though stress and anxiety are technically different, their symptoms are virtually identical.
Triggering Your Body’s Stress Response
When you face a stressor or experience anxiety, your body’s stress response kicks in to protect you. It goes into classic fight-flight-freeze mode. And you get flooded with hormones like cortisol and adrenaline that help you escape from danger.
That stress response can cause a wide variety of symptoms including:
- Gastrointestinal (GI) issues, from diarrhea to nausea to abdominal pain
- Difficulty falling and staying asleep