The other day, a warrior in our private Facebook group asked a fascinating question: what’s the difference between worry and anxiety? Or are they the same?
It’s funny. When I was brainstorming names for this blog, I did a STACK of research and pondering. I chose Worry Warrior because I felt it takes a somewhat empowering approach to anxiety: you can be strong and have mental illness.
But I never really pondered the difference between worry and anxiety. To me, worry was the thinking part, and anxiety was the feeling part.
I worry in my mind, I feel anxious in my body.
I asked Twitter, and the response was similar:
Does that mean you can be worried without having anxiety? Yes. Many people worry about something (an exam, moving house), but then release that worry as soon as the scary situation ends.
Anxiety lingers. Drifts in and out of your mind and body like a wave. It’s always there – it’s just that sometimes you hear it as a whisper, other times a scream.
But can you have anxiety without being worried? Doubtful. Worry/fear is what sparks the symptoms of anxiety: sweaty palms, racing heart, irritability, swirly tummy…
Worry is the start of anxiety.
If you don’t have an anxiety disorder, the worry wanes when the problem is solved.
If you do have an anxiety disorder, the worry can bring on or heighten your anxiety.
After all, anxiety is a normal, healthy response to fear (worry). When something scary threatens you, your body produces hormones and gets blood to your limbs quickly – so you can hightail it outta there, or stay and fight.
But an anxiety disorder is extreme worry or nervousness – often about nothing in particular.
Let’s dig deeper.
Anxiety is actually an umbrella term for many different disorders. Like:
- Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
- Social anxiety disorder (social phobia)
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Panic disorder
- Obsessive compulsive disorder
It’s not one thing. And so it’s not experienced equally by everyone. My anxiety looks and feels differently to your anxiety. Even if we have the same diagnosis, our anxiety adventure will be completely difference.
So that means:
Worry is specific. Anxiety is general.
Also, fear is a response to an actual, real-life threat. But anxiety is when you worry about a potential danger – a future event you may not be able to control.
That’s why my anxiety often manifests in over-planning (stuffing my bag with ‘essential’ supplies for all possible scenarios) or rehearsing difficult conversations with people – and imagining the worst possible outcome.
And as a type A anxious personality, I also feel a strong desire to problem solve (even though many people with anxiety find it difficult to see solutions). So not only am I having to solve problems in the here and now (“I have 5 minutes to get to the bus stop”), I’m also trying to avoid or solve future, fictional problems (“Better get the coins out of my bag now, so I don’t drop them all on the floor in front of everyone when I buy a ticket. And I should probably sit downstairs, because otherwise I won’t have enough time to get off the bus at my stop…”)
What about you?
Here’s a quick snapshot of the difference between worry and anxiety:
What is worry?
- Based on thoughts
- Experienced in the mind (when the prefrontal cortex or ‘thinking brain’ mingles with the limbic system – the ‘emotional brain’)
- Tends to be about a specific problem
- Prompts problem solving
What is anxiety?
- Starts in the mind (when the limbic system mingles with the amygdala, hippocampus, and hypothalamus to switch on your fear response)
- Expressed in symptoms, behaviours and actions
- Described as a continuous state of stress
- Prompts thinking in a loop, often unable to see solutions
So yes, there is a difference between worry and anxiety. You can worry, but not have anxiety. But if you have anxiety, you worry. A lot.
And that’s what Worry Warrior is all about.