The 3 Big Differences Between Anxiety and Stress

While anxiety comes from internal stress, stress is external, since we must comply with third parties, not with ourselves. In fair doses, they can have their positive side.

We might think that anxiety and stress are the same. However, today we will discover some great differences between anxiety and stress that will not make you doubt ever again.

Anxiety is known as a reaction resulting from worries , past thoughts or negative experiences that are still present in the now.

On the other hand, stress is often the result of external pressure such as we can find at work.

Contrary to anxiety, it can even be positive to be more effective and successfully carry out the work done (although this is not always the case).

Differences Between Anxiety and Stress

1. Stress and anxiety have different origins

One of the great differences between anxiety and stress is that its trigger is not the same, although at first we think so.

Anxiety arises from a sense of fear that, in most cases, is irrational. For example, fear of losing the couple, fear of being alone or of failure.

Instead, stress appears when we feel overwhelmed by responsibilities and we believe we will not give for everything.

It can even appear when we lack sufficient information to perform well daily action (eg, dressing the kids to go to school before leaving for work with just time).

2. Anxiety is a symptom of stress

What is anxiety?
The confusion between what is anxiety and what is stress appears because the first is a symptom of the second. However, this happens at specific times.

As we mentioned at the beginning, stress is something that happens in a timely manner . Usually come and go. However, there is something known as "chronic stress."

When we can not shake the stress off of it, it prevents us from sleeping , it generates obsessive thoughts and problems at home, so anxiety can appear as a result of stress.

At the moment that anxiety becomes a symptom of stress, there is great fatigue, emotional fatigue, motivation and even depression.

3. Social pressures generate stress; beliefs, anxiety

Another major difference between anxiety and stress is that anxiety is the result of creenc ias that are part of the view we have about the world.

For example, if in my family there has been a belief that all men abandon women, in the end, every time I am with a partner, my fear that that happens will turn into anxiety.

An anxiety that will generate me certain behaviors like excess of control, to watch to the pair, to impose it, to want to be always with her, etc.

This behavior may lead to a withdrawal from the other person, which will increase my anxiety.

The solution? I have to change my beliefs.

What happens if I suffer from stress? That I am subjected to great social pressure , but also to a great deal of family, labor, etc. pressure.

For example, if my family insists that I study a career, I will feel pressured and the result of this pressure will be almost constant stress.

When I go to an exam, when I discover my average grade, in each and every one of those moments I will stress because I want to take on the size due to a demand that others are making.

Living without anxiety and stress, is it possible?

Now that we have seen the differences between anxiety and stress, as well as the contexts in which they can develop, a question arises: Can one live without anxiety and stress?

The answer is "no", but what can be done is to attenuate what they provoke us. Although we should not forget that both anxiety and stress have a positive side .

Anxiety is a state of alert that invites us to review something that we have in our mind (worries, beliefs) and that must be changed.

Taking a new perspective on things, getting rid of beliefs that, in reality, do not belong to you but your family can free you from a burden that is increasingly weighing more.

In terms of stress, sometimes it is very positive because it activates us, makes us more effective and even helps if, if we have something to deliver, we do much earlier.

However, it is necessary not to prolong this stress. We must make it only punctual and not begin to be part of our routine.