While the words ‘anxiety,’ and ‘stress,’ are often interchanged, there is a marked difference between the two in a clinical setting. Stress can be caused by any number of things. It is usually caused by an outside force, leaving little to control but ourselves.
While anxiety, is defined as persisting, excessive concerns, worries, and intrusive thoughts that persist even in the absence of stressors that initially cause the anxiety, stress is better defined as a proportionate response to environmental or situational stressors that lessen in intensity when the initial cause of the stress will resolve.
When held in the body, stress shows in physical manifestations like lethargy, changes in blood pressure, headaches, dizziness, fatigue, inexplicable aches, and/or wide-span muscle pain. Other symptoms include digestive troubles (persistent constipation, bouts of nausea, gas pains, acid reflux, or bouts of diarrhea), and disturbed sleep (restless sleep, insomnia, snoring, broken sleep, sleepwalking, etc).
Stress is any number of things, and is usually caused by an outside force, leaving little to control but ourselves.
The difference between anxiety and stress means that, with stress, when the stressor is absent, has gone away, or otherwise handled, the feelings of unease leave with it.
However, finding yourself with chronic stress means that it can feel like clinical anxiety, in that the stress never seems to go away. Chronic stress is stress that is compounded with no real relief or reprieve.
While most of these stressors are out of our ready control, we can control and center ourselves. An individual, through therapy, can learn how to best manage their stress so that they can reclaim some peace of mind.
Managing stress is like managing symptoms of anxiety. This means it’s helpful to have a counselor who can help you compartmentalize your stressors, help organize your thoughts and feelings, and create solution-oriented plans. Plans focused on helping you endure these adjustment periods and reduce as much stress as possible.
A caring, objective mediator can help to set realistic expectations and objectives for stress management. For both the present and the future. They will teach you how to release that which cannot be controlled, and how to regain control where it’s lost.
In regard to teaching and improving upon your existing stress management methods, we have the personal and professional experience, training, insight, cultural humility and cultural responsiveness, and expertise to not only empathize with you, understand what you’re going through but also help you strategize to manage the present and prepare for the future.
Stress is not a disorder. But that doesn’t mean there are no methods or practices to help ease the unpleasantness of chronic, ongoing stress.
You deserve to have your stress managed and to feel real fulfillment and peace of mind, and we can help you do that.
Ready to start living a stress-free life? If you’re struggling with stress and feel constantly overwhelmed, counseling could help. At Informed Therapy Group in Atlanta Georgia, you will work with our skilled therapists who understand your specific needs and help provide you with the coping skills to manage your stress. To get started with therapy for stress management follow these simple steps:
At Informed Therapy Group we understand that you may be struggling with more than your stress. In addition to therapy for stress management, our online practice offers anxiety therapy, depression therapy, and therapy for grief and loss. We specialize in couples therapy, pregnancy counseling, and postpartum therapy. To learn more about Informed Therapy read About Us, FAQs, and our blog!
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Everyone deserves the opportunity to feel safe and supported in the therapeutic alliance.