Understanding Stress and Anxiety

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By Dr. Edward F. Group III, DC, ND, DACBN
updated on 11/19/2007 at 03:03PM

Stress can develop as a response to any situation or thought that upsets you. Anxiety is a feeling of apprehension or fear. Stress can vary day to day from person to person. What’s stressful to one person is not necessarily stressful to another, and what bothers you today may not be as upsetting tomorrow. The same goes for anxiety: that is, it’s not always possible to determine the cause of anxiety, or what one’s reaction to it might be.

Stress and anxiety often go hand in hand with one another. They can cause both physical and emotional distress, and lead to the development of such serious disorders as heart disease, ulcers, and panic attacks. The signs and symptoms of stress and anxiety are often so similar that it can sometimes be difficult to distinguish the cause of the problem from its side effect. Regardless, there are ways that you can manage stress and anxiety so that they no longer have a detrimental effect on your life.

What Is Stress?

Stress is a natural part of life. From cranky kids to the morning commute, most of us experience several stressful situations each day. We typically respond to stress on both physiological and emotional levels. Some of the physiological responses to stress may include increased heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate, sweating, dry mouth, tightened muscles, appetite changes, sleep disorders, and headaches. Emotional and cognitive responses to stress include negative self-talk, restlessness, inability to concentrate, and memory loss.

What Is Anxiety?

Anxiety also involves physical and emotional reactions within the body. They tend to occur as the result of a stressful or worrisome event. For example, one might feel anxiety over an upcoming move, or their relationship problems. Some people may develop anxiety due to an irrational fear such as a fear of losing control, a fear of embarrassing themselves, or a fear of dying. For some, the signs and symptoms may occur for no apparent reason, and then continue for long periods, or occur frequently throughout the day. Panic attacks, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and social anxiety are all common types of anxiety disorders that involve excess levels of anxiety. The typical symptoms of anxiety include nervousness, increased heart rate, breathing rate and blood pressure, dizziness, digestive disorders, tightened muscles, sweating, and panic attacks. Anxiety disorders occur most frequently in those who are extremely analytical, emotionally sensitive, have a low self-esteem, or tend to over react to situations.

Managing Stress and Anxiety

Take Inventory: The first step to managing your stress or anxiety is to try and understand the source of your feelings. What do you worry about most? Has something been on your mind lately? What seems to trigger your symptoms?
Stay Connected: Sometimes, just talking about your feelings with a friend or loved one can help to reduce their affect on you. Don't feel like you are burdening someone with your problems. Your friends and family are there to support you just as you would support them. If you’re feeling stressed or particularly anxious, talk it out, even if you can't understand why you feel the way you do.
Get Help: If necessary, seek the advice of your health care provider or a qualified therapist to evaluate and diagnose your condition. He or she may be able to help you determine the cause of your stress and anxiety and recommend methods for treating your condition.
Take Care of Yourself: Stress and anxiety can often lead to digestive disorders as well as poor eating and sleeping patterns. But it is very important to make sure your body is getting the nutrients and the rest that it needs to stay healthy. This will reduce your chance of developing more serious conditions such as heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. A poor diet, especially one lacking in vitamin B12, can also contribute to stress or anxiety.

Alleviating Your Symptoms

Here are a few guidelines you can use to help alleviate your anxiety and stress related symptoms:

Learn Your Trigger Points: Try to understand when and where your symptoms most frequently develop and how you can minimize them in those situations.

Give Yourself Permission To Be Stressed: We spend so much time fighting the symptoms of anxiety or depression. But often, simply allowing yourself to experience these feelings for a designated period (say ten minutes) will help you get past them and get on with your daily activities.

Listen To Yourself: Listen to your self-talk. Is it extremely negative? Do you blame yourself for things that may be out of your control? Pay attention to the thoughts that are in your head and make an effort to focus only on positive thoughts.

Reward Yourself: Set small, achievable goals for managing your symptoms, and then reward yourself when you achieve them. For example, if you generally become anxious when dealing with new people, reward yourself for getting the groceries without becoming upset.