Stress and anxiety test our resilience and fortitude. They can also cause problems when we let them build up without proper management. This article will help you understand the impacts of stress and anxiety and offers tips on how to manage them.
Stress is pervasive in our lives, a constant companion that shadows us through our ups and downs, weaving its way into our daily experiences and relationships. Yet its true essence often eludes us amidst casual references and colloquialisms like referring to yourself as “stressed out.” This phrase, though commonly used, masks the profound impact of stress and anxiety effects on our well-being.
“Stressed out” may mean, “I have to pick up the kids from school and my partner this evening” or “this is the biggest report of my career, and if it goes well, I’ll get that promotion.” It manifests in various forms, from the mundane pressures of chores to the weightier burdens of navigating complex relationships. Across scenarios, stress exerts its grip, testing our resilience and fortitude.
Stress extends beyond a simple response to physical tasks. It also infiltrates our thoughts and emotions. Imagine restless nights spent tossing and turning, plagued by worries and what-ifs. Consider the moments of doubt and uncertainty, where negative thoughts and self-doubt have their chance to enter. Here, stress takes on a more insidious impact, and may even turn into pervasive anxiety.
What is Stress?
Stress is a physiological bodily response to a threatening situation, typically experienced as a response to a specific, predictable, and measurable situation. Have your hands ever started sweating while giving a presentation at work, or felt your heart start racing as you navigated busy traffic while trying to pick up both the kids and your elderly parent on a tight timeline? That’s stress.
It is important to recognize that often, stress becomes conflated with time pressure. We often experience stress when we are pressed on a deadline or do not think we can get through everything that must be done in one day. Importantly, stress is individualistic, coming down to a person’s perception of the situation at hand. One person’s perception of an event may not induce the same level of stress in another person. For example, putting together an important brief for your boss before their lunch meeting may not stress you out, but already makes my palms sweat!
What is the Difference Between Stress and Anxiety?
Stress exists on a spectrum, ranging from minimal, to reasonable, to exasperated reactions to external life pressures or demands. Stress is a common part of life that can wax and wane depending on one’s circumstance. Anxiety, on the other hand, is a more persistent and seemingly uncontrollable unease, worry, or fear that is not always tied to a specific stressor. Anxiety is characterized by excessive rumination and anticipation of future threats or negative outcomes, even when there is no imminent danger.
Stress and anxiety are closely related, but they are not the same, and it is important to recognize the differences between them. They share similarities in their physiological arousal symptoms and emotional discomfort, but they differ in their underlying causes, duration, and response patterns.
Causes
While stress typically arises in response to external pressures, demands, or challenges, anxiety is characterized by excessive worrying or fear about the future, daily matters, events, situations, and uncertainties. Anxiety effects may not always have an identifiable cause and can persist even when there is no immediate threat. For example, while stress may arise from thoughts about a looming deadline at work, anxiety could stem from generalized worries about one’s work performance overall, irrespective of a specific work threat or one’s actual performance history at work. Anxiety may also manifest in worrying about personal relationships, health concerns, or existential uncertainties. These anxieties may be experienced as persistent feelings of apprehension or dread, even in the absence of any specific stressor.
In other words, stress heightens our capacity to respond to what’s important in the present moment, and anxiety is typically future-oriented worrying.
Response Patterns
Another distinction, which can be more difficult to separate, are the symptoms that come with stress and anxiety. That is because stress and anxiety are similar in the symptoms they create, which can include irritability, muscle tension, restlessness, trouble concentrating, and sleep difficulties. Anxiety, however, can go a step further and include panic-like symptoms—including panic attacks.
Duration
Stress typically manifests as a response to immediate external pressures or challenges, like that looming work presentation. However, once the stressor is removed or the situation is resolved, the stress often dissipates. This acute form of stress, although intense, is usually manageable and does not typically lead to long-term health issues.
The problem arises when stress persists over longer periods, becoming chronic and potentially leading to various health problems. Chronic stress, or the long-term effects of stress, can result from ongoing life circumstances like financial difficulties, relationship problems, or work-related stressors alongside a perceived or actual inability to cope with the stressors. Over time, this prolonged exposure to stress hormones like cortisol can take a toll on the body, contributing to conditions like hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and weakened immune function. Managing chronic stress requires a comprehensive approach that may include lifestyle changes, stress-reduction techniques, and professional support.
Similarly, anxiety can also be acute (triggered by a specific event) or chronic in nature. Unlike stress, anxiety tends to be future-oriented, characterized by excessive worrying about potential threats or uncertainties. The key word here is “potential” – in anxiety, there is no clearly defined or specific actual threat. For example, if there is a tiger in front of me, I may appropriately experience stress (and fear) because I may be about to be badly injured. However, if the tiger is in an enclosed environment at the zoo, there is no credible threat. If I experience stress and fear anyway, that’s likely to be anxiety. Chronic anxiety can significantly interfere with daily functioning, leading to persistent feelings of apprehension, restlessness, and difficulty concentrating.
In a feedback loop, stress can also in turn negatively affect interpersonal relationships and contribute to burnout and emotion dysregulation. It can impact work performance and productivity, sleep, and one’s lifestyle choices (i.e., misuse of substances such as food, smoking, alcohol, or drugs). The consequences of prolonged stress are real —this is why stress management is crucial for improved and optimal health, well-being, and quality of life.
Strategies to Help Manage Stress and Anxiety
Identify Stress Triggers
First and foremost, it is important to recognize the stress triggers in your life. These triggers can manifest in many forms, from mundane daily tasks to significant life events. By pinpointing your triggers, you gain insight into the specific sources of your stress and empower yourself to develop tailored strategies to increase your skills to cope with life’s challenges.
Fight Stress and Anxiety with Relaxation Techniques
Relaxation techniques are well-researched and helpful in reducing your physical symptoms of anxiety. Three techniques I find most valuable include progressive muscle relaxation (PMR), diaphragmatic breathing, and guided imagery. Although these are some of the most valuable tools to manage stress and anxiety effects, anecdotally, I find that people underrate them.
Here’s a simple diaphragmatic breathing exercise you can try:
- Sit or lie down in a comfortable position.
- Scan your body for any tension and relax your muscles.
- Focus your attention on your breathing, placing one hand on your chest, and the other hand on your abdomen (above your belly button) to help track where your breath goes in your body.
- Then, breathe through your nose. As you breathe through your nose, move the location of your breath from your chest to your abdomen. Your chest should remain still, while your stomach expands and contracts easily, like a balloon, with each breath.
- Slow down your breathing by counting to 3 as you inhale, and to 3 as you exhale. Continue this breathing for about 10 minutes.
Other evidence-based relaxation techniques include mindfulness meditation and yoga, each offering unique benefits for managing stress and fostering a sense of calm and well-being (see some mindfulness exercises here).
Problem Solving
Problem solving is another strategy for managing stress and anxiety. When you feel overwhelmed, prioritize the responsibilities that matter to you, organize any tasks you need to complete in order, and break tasks down into small doable chunks.This can provide clarity, direction, and a sense of control. For example, let’s say you have a looming deadline at work and you are feeling stressed about completing the project on time. Instead of allowing yourself to become paralyzed by anxiety, you can break the task down into smaller, more manageable steps. Start by brainstorming all the tasks that need to be completed to finish the project, then prioritize them based on urgency and importance. It’s okay to delegate tasks too.
By taking proactive steps to address the problem, you will likely find that your stress levels decrease as you regain a sense of agency and progress toward your goal.
Positive Self-Talk
Practicing positive self-talk can help reframe stressful situations that are out of your control, and can help manage anxious thoughts. Positive self-talk involves consciously shifting your internal dialogue from negative or self-critical thoughts to more supportive and empowering ones. It’s about cultivating a mindset of self-compassion and resilience, even in the face of adversity. For example, instead of berating yourself for making a mistake, you might say, “I’m human, and everyone makes mistakes. I’ll learn from this experience and work towards improving the outcome next time.” This type of self-talk promotes self-acceptance and growth, rather than self-judgment and defeatism. It’s important to note that positive self-talk doesn’t mean cheerleading that is disconnected from reality. Rather, it’s about balancing your capacity to see positive and negative aspects of situations and to identify opportunities as well as challenges.
Mindfulness and Grounding
Practicing mindfulness by trying to catch yourself overthinking or stressing, and anchoring yourself back to the present moment can be another helpful way to manage anxiety. Since a lot of anxiety is future-oriented and is often based on countless possible scenarios that may occur rather than observation of what is actually occuring, these worries are technically “noise” that does not serve you, but rather depletes your energy.
Anchoring yourself back in the present moment may involve grounding techniques that help you reconnect with your immediate surroundings and sensations, rather than getting lost in anxious or ruminative thoughts about the past or future. One simple technique is called “5-4-3-2-1.” Start by taking a few deep breaths to centre yourself. Then, identify five things you can see around you, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. By engaging your senses in this way, you bring your attention back to the present moment, allowing yourself to experience your natural response to your immediate surroundings amidst the chaos of stress or anxiety related to future events.
Relationship Support
When managing stress and anxiety, it is important to remain connected with your social network—while people can be a source of stress or frustration, it is through our social supports that we embrace our innate need for human connection. Reaching out to friends, family members, or support groups can energize you and remind you of what really matters. Consider going for a walk with a friend where the conversation is uplifting and positively charged.
Another stress-management approach in relationships might involve reconsidering your perspective on the relationship and focusing on its positive aspects. This involves acknowledging that while the relationship may have its challenges, it also offers valuable benefits and opportunities for growth. Instead of fixating on what’s lacking or imperfect, you can choose to appreciate the support, companionship, and shared experiences that the relationship provides. What do you love about this person? This friendship? What is their true character and spirit? What are the true intentions behind their actions or words? Can you level with your expectations of the person, based on your own needs, accept the person for who they are and what they are willing to offer, and appreciate the aspects they can provide? By shifting your mindset in this way, you can cultivate a greater sense of gratitude and satisfaction, even amidst the ups and downs of interpersonal dynamics.
If you struggle with stress or anxiety, both are amenable to attention with a mental health professional, like our wonderful therapists here at Transforming Emotions. Don’t let stress grow into something greater before seeking support through therapy!
