Worry and anxiety may be used interchangeably by many people, but the implications of these two words are vastly different. Understanding the difference between the two is vital, as it is your well-being that is at stake.
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Understanding Anxiety
Anxiety is your body’s response to extreme stress and fear about a situation. Broadly speaking, anxiety has three facets: emotional, physical, and cognitive.
It affects emotional health by causing a surge of stress and worry. Physical symptoms of anxiety include a racing heart, tingling in the extremities, nausea, sleep problems, amongst others. The spiraling into negativity and catastrophizing are the cognitive effects of anxiety.
In moderate amounts, anxiety is helpful; it triggers a fight-or-flight response, which is important to your survival. However, it is when the anxiety levels are extremely high that they harm your well-being. Anxiety may then lead to irrational thoughts and fears.
Understanding worry
Worry is a feeling that is triggered by a future event. It leads to fear, dread, apprehension, and stress. Worrying is also accompanied by negative thoughts.
Often, worrying is associated with things that involve high stakes; you might worry about the dinner when you have guests over, but making dinner for yourself does not worry you.
The difference between anxiety and worry
There are several types of anxieties, unlike worries
There are several types of anxieties, like social anxiety, GAD, phobia, etc. Worry, on the other hand, is associated with a future event of any sort, and not a specialized one.
Worry is a part of anxiety, and vice versa is not true
Worry is one of the components of anxiety, so it captures the experience of anxiety only partially. Worrying does not lead to emotional imbalance or physical symptoms that are characteristic of anxiety.
Worry is often rational, anxiety is not
Worry is mostly rooted in rational fears but the same cannot be said for anxiety. When you are worried, there is some logic and rationale that your thought process has undergone. For example, you might be worried about getting late for work because you left home late. You have a reason to be worried.
Anxiety is not rooted entirely in rationality; it is an exaggerated response. You tend to over-stress and catastrophize about matters when you are anxious.
For example, anxiety is when you are scared about being late, despite leaving the house on time. In your head, you can be late for several reasons, that have not even happened yet, but you are riled up, nonetheless.
Worry is temporary, anxiety is not
Another distinction between the two is that worry is temporary and momentary. Anxiety is chronic worrying. It stays with you all the time, and if it is specific anxiety, then it strikes anytime you come across or think over your triggers. Where you dont need any medication to get relief from wariness. you can however try medications like Diazepam, Clonazepam or food supplements like CBD gummies for anxiety. The list doesn’t end here, there are also many exercises you can practice to tame the severity of anxiety in your daily life.
Getting professional help
Modern living carries several sources of stress; especially when you live in a metropolitan city like Dubai. But distinguishing between worry and anxiety is important; the former is a natural response; the latter needs to be managed and treated.
So, if you are experiencing anxiety symptoms, it is best that you seek the help of an expert.
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