Stress and anxiety can turn a person’s life into a dark and dreary dungeon, where it’s hard to breathe. Unfortunately, both of these interrelated problems are pretty common among people these days. Therefore, we all should know what they really are and how to cope with them.
In order to deal with these problems, first of all, we should know the basic definitions of these words (stress and anxiety). Also, we must know how to differentiate between the two of them. So here’s all the necessary information:
Stress And Anxiety: What Do You Understand?
Described in a nutshell, stress is simply the pressure exerted on your brain or body. This pressure is actually a “demand” that galvanizes the body into action. People often report feeling stressed when they come face to face with the demand, that’s been placed on them. For example, when someone is going to do something new or exciting, it’s the stress that urges them to act. It (stress) can also be triggered by something that makes you feel agitated or frustrated. It can be (both) negative and positive. Following are the kinds of stress:
Acute Stress: This kind of stress is short-term and it often goes away easily (in a short time). Acute stress can have a positive as well as a negative nature. But, in most cases, it’s the positive one. Other characteristics of acute stress are as follows:
- Acute stress keeps coming and going.
- It doesn’t last long and goes away quickly.
- It increases a person’s heart rate and makes them breathe fast.
- It’s usually not a cause for concern.
Chronic Stress: Unlike acute stress, this kind of stress is something that should be taken seriously. It is long-lasting and comes with numerous threats and ill-effects. Acute stress is usually caused by overthinking; or by something that keeps nagging or troubling your mind. It can cause great harm to your physical as well as mental health. Following are some of its adverse effects:
- Chronic stress can slow down a person’s digestive system.
- It causes damage to the immune system of a person.
- This kind of stress makes a person look dull and disconsolate all the time.
In very simple words, it is a feeling of nervousness, worry or fear in a person. It can be also a by-product of stress at times. You may feel anxious when you’re dealing with a problem; when you’re going to make an important decision of your life; or maybe when you’re going to try your hand at something new. Just like stress, anxiety can also be good and bad. The nature of anxiety depends on its root cause and duration.
The number of physical and psychological symptoms that stress and anxiety can produce include:
- Muscle tension or twitching
- Elevated pulse rate
- Rapid breathing
- Pain in stomach
- Chills or shivers
- Frequent change in appetite
- Panic and irritation in social settings
- Difficulty focusing and concentrating on something
- Mood swings, groundless anger
- Frequent urination
People having long periods of stress and anxiety (or one of the two) are more likely to develop medical conditions (including diabetes, high blood pressure, heart diseases, etc.) than the people who know how to tackle them. Therefore, we should never ignore long-lasting stress or anxiety and try to seek medical help in such cases.