On the most basic level, stress is a response to demands from the outside world. Routine stress is a response to the pressures, time constraints, and responsibilities we encounter at work, at school, or in our family and home lives. Stress manifests itself physically and emotionally. Common symptoms include: 1.) insomnia, 2.) muscle pain, 3.) irritability, 4.) fatigue, 5.) digestive problems . When you’ve got too much on your plate you may notice your shoulders tightening and your temper shortening. But routine stress is part and parcel of daily life and, for the most part, it comes and goes. Severe and acute stress is brought on by sudden changes. Unexpected negative circumstances like loss, illness, getting fired, or a sudden breakup can lead to more debilitating symptoms. Though more severe and longer-lasting, these stress responses also tend to diminish over time when they are monitored and managed with relaxation, exercise, and emotional support. Feeling stressed often leads to having anxiety, but anxiety can live on in the absence of stressors. Healthy amounts of stress can keep us motivated, safe, and productive. Long-term stress is a serious health risk. Living with constant stress takes a toll on our bodies and can lead to physical illnesses like heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Chronic stress can also lead to mental illnesses like depression and anxiety disorders. Our bodies and minds are designed to experience stress in certain situations, but not to undergo an endless string of stress responses. When we exceed our limit, we run the risk of developing disorders, including anxiety disorders. (That said, stress disorders also exist.)

What's The Difference Between Stress And Anxiety?

Q: What’s the difference between stress and anxiety?

We’re all familiar with stress—more familiar than we’d like to be. We have stressful days at work or get stressed out when our partners don’t get along with our friends. We take baths, drink tension-taming teas, light stress-relieving candles, and tell ourselves that someday soon we’ll de-stress for good. Stress is ubiquitous in American society. It’s a physical and emotional response to external challenges, and modern life is nothing if not challenging. We’re also familiar with anxiety, or at least we think we are. “Anxiety” is a term that gets tossed around quite a bit: We blame looming deadlines, complicated family situations, and sensational news headlines for giving us anxiety. The word is often used interchangeably with “stress” in everyday conversation, but they aren’t the same thing. Everyone gets stressed at least some of the time, but how do you know if you have a more serious issue with anxiety? Our tendency to conflate stress and anxiety most likely stems from the fact that symptoms of stress and anxiety are nearly identical. To mistake one for another in casual conversation isn’t a big deal. To treat them as one and the same when you’re struggling to manage symptoms can cause problems. Not sure whether you’re suffering from anxiety or are merely stressed out? In order to answer that question, you have to understand the difference between stress and dysregulated anxiety first. Everyone gets stressed at least some of the time, but how do you know if you have a more serious issue with anxiety?

Q: What is anxiety?

Like stress, symptoms of anxiety also include insomnia, muscle pain, irritability, fatigue, and digestive problems. Mild anxiety is a part of life and can be triggered as easily as routine stress is. We can all expect to experience occasional anxiety; it’s natural to get anxious before a big presentation or on the way to meet your partner’s parents. The persistent, trigger-independent nature of anxiety sets it apart from stress. This standard worry comes and goes and can usually be managed on one’s own. However, symptoms of anxiety can manifest even when there’s nothing concrete to be worried about. Sleeplessness, tension, irritability, and negative thoughts can present themselves with or without external triggers. Feeling stressed often leads to having anxiety, but anxiety can live on in the absence of stressors. That’s because moderate to severe anxiety is a baseline state of excessive worry. It’s one thing to worry about something like an upcoming deadline, and entirely another to be worried in a general, unfocused way on a daily basis. The persistent, trigger-independent nature of anxiety sets it apart from stress. You might think of anxiety disorders as the result of stress that gets stuck in gear and keeps going after stressors are gone. Chronic, severe anxiety can make daily life incredibly difficult if untreated, and it poses serious health risks. These protracted, intense waves of anxiety are often diagnosed as anxiety disorders. When one has an anxiety disorder, the anxiety doesn’t go away with the stressor.

Q: What is generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)?

Those suffering from generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) feel excessively worried and anxious almost every day for six months or more. Sufferers may feel anxious about any and every aspect of their life, even seemingly insignificant ones, like what to have for dinner. They may have trouble sleeping, feel wound-up, become irritable, and have difficulty concentrating. These symptoms may intensify over time and lead to significant behavioral changes.

We’re probably all somewhat familiar with anxiety and stress—perhaps we've even experienced them both in our lives.

The words anxiety and stress are often used interchangeably in everyday conversation, however they aren’t the same thing.

Not sure whether you’re experiencing anxiety or stress?

Feeling stressed often leads to having anxiety, but anxiety can live on in the absence of external stressors.

Our tendency to conflate stress and anxiety most likely stems from the fact that symptoms of stress and anxiety are nearly identical.

Read on, and we'll dive in to the difference between stress and anxiety.

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What's stress?

On the most basic level, stress is a response to demands from the outside world.

Acute short-term stress is a response to the pressures, time constraints, and responsibilities we encounter at work, at school, or in our family and home lives.

Modern life is challenging, and stress is a physical and emotional response to external challenges. We all experience stressful days at work or get stressed out when our partners don’t get along with our friends.

To address stress, we prioritize our self-care, take baths, and drink tension-taming teas.

Stress manifests itself both physically and emotionally.

Common symptoms of stress include:

insomnia
muscle pain
irritability
fatigue
digestive problems

When you’ve got too much on your plate, you may notice your shoulders tightening and your temper shortening.

That said, routine stress is part of daily life. Believe it or not, there are even some benefits to stress. Healthy amounts of stress can keep us motivated, safe, and productive.

Long-term chronic stress, however, is a serious health risk. Distress, aka the "bad stress," is brought on by sudden changes. Unexpected negative circumstances like loss, illness, getting fired, or a sudden breakup can lead to more debilitating symptoms.

Living with constant stress takes a toll on our bodies and can lead to physical illnesses like heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

Chronic stress can also lead to mental illnesses like depression.

What's anxiety?

As with stress, symptoms of anxiety also include insomnia, muscle pain, irritability, fatigue, and digestive problems.

We can all expect to experience occasional anxiety. It’s natural to get anxious before a big presentation or on the way to meet your partner’s parents.

This standard worry comes and goes and can usually be managed on one’s own.

However, symptoms of anxiety can manifest even when there’s nothing concrete to be worried about.

Sleeplessness, tension, irritability, and negative thoughts can present themselves with or without external triggers.

Feeling stressed often leads to having anxiety, however anxiety can live on in the absence of external stressors.

The persistent, trigger-independent nature of anxiety sets it apart from stress.

That’s because moderate to severe anxiety is a baseline state of excessive worry. It’s one thing to worry about something like an upcoming deadline, and entirely another to be worried in a general, unfocused way on a daily basis.

The persistent, trigger-independent nature of anxiety sets it apart from stress. You might think of anxiety disorders as the result of stress that gets stuck in gear and keeps going after stressors are gone.

Chronic, severe anxiety can make daily life incredibly difficult if untreated, and it poses serious health risks.

These protracted, intense waves of anxiety are often diagnosed as anxiety disorders. When one has an anxiety disorder, the anxiety doesn’t go away with the stressor.

How common are anxiety disorders?

Statistics published by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) show that 19% of American adults had an anxiety disorder in the early aughts.

The authors of the study projected that 31% of adults in the U.S. will experience an anxiety disorder in their lifetime.

Common anxiety disorders include Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Panic Disorder, and Phobia-Related Disorder. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), anxiety disorders are the most common type of mental health disorder in the United States.

A Monarch by SimplePractice infographic stating that 31% of adults in the U.S. will experience an anxiety disorder in their lifetime.

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)

Those suffering from Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) feel excessively worried and anxious almost every day for six months or more.

Sufferers may feel anxious about any and every aspect of their life, even seemingly insignificant ones, like what to have for dinner. They may have trouble sleeping, feel wound-up, become irritable, and have difficulty concentrating.

These symptoms may intensify over time and lead to significant behavioral changes.

Panic disorder

People with a panic disorder experience recurring panic attacks.

During a panic attack, sufferers are completely overwhelmed by anxiety and experience accelerated heartbeat, sweating, trembling or shaking, shortness of breath, and the feeling of loss of control.

People with panic disorder often go out of their way to avoid situations in which an attack could be triggered. That means steering clear of certain people, places, and social situations.

This avoidance can lead to the deterioration of relationships and the development of phobias.

Phobia-related disorders

These are diagnosed when patients experience specific, debilitating fear that stems from their anxiety. Social Anxiety Disorder, for example, is an intense fear of social settings and social performance that leads people to avoid social interaction.

Agoraphobia is a fear of the outside world that may lead sufferers to avoid being in public spaces alone, riding public transportation, or being in crowds.

These phobias make engagement with the world incredibly difficult.

Of course, increased isolation also puts sufferers at risk of other mental health conditions like depression.

A Monarch by SimplePractice illustration of a man wearing a black and white striped shirt, black pants, black shoes, and a black messenger bag.

How do I know whether I have an anxiety disorder or I’m just stressed out?

If you are able to pinpoint specific stressors and notice that symptoms come and go as life events are managed and resolved, it’s likely you’re experiencing stress.

If symptoms arise as an immediate response to an external trigger, you may be stressed or dealing with mild anxiety.

If you’re worried on a daily basis for weeks or months on end and are unable to manage your symptoms, you may have dysregulated anxiety.

Similarly, if you’re worried and can’t figure out exactly why, you may have dis-regulated anxiety. If panic attacks, sleeplessness, irritability, tension, and negative thoughts and moods begin to change your behavior, you may have an anxiety disorder.

Managing stress and anxiety is incredibly important when it comes to mental and physical health.

Understanding the difference between stress and anxiety and their respective symptoms should help shed some light on whether it’s stress or anxiety that ails you.

However, the only way to be certain is to get a diagnosis from a mental health professional.

Managing stress and anxiety is incredibly important when it comes to mental and physical health.

If you feel you’re not adequately coping on your own, seek a consultation, and consider whether therapeutic treatment is right for you.

How to find a therapist who can help with anxiety and stress

If anxiety is interrupting your day-to-day functioning, reach out to speak with a counselor or therapist about what you're experiencing.

The Monarch directory by SimplePractice can help you find a therapist who specializes in treating anxiety.

Many offer online booking and in-person sessions and telehealth video appointments as well as free 15-minute initial consultations.

Do I have an anxiety disorder?

Take our 2-Minute Anxiety Assessment to find out whether you may have an anxiety disorder.

Simply answer a few quick questions, and you'll receive your personalized results.

The quiz was developed based on the GAD-7, a widely used tool to screen clients with anxiety symptoms.

That said, your results from the quiz should not be viewed as a replacement for professional treatment.

Check out profiles of mental health professional near you who specializes in anxiety. You can also choose to browse therapists and counselors who accept your insurance.

When discussing with your doctor or therapist, it will be helpful to describe details about the symptoms you're experiencing. .

Need to find a therapist who specializes in treating anxiety? Check out the Monarch Directory by SimplePractice to find anxiety therapists near you with availability and online booking.

Article originally published Sep 8, 2022. Updated Jan 4, 2023.

APA. (2019). What’s the difference between stress and anxiety? Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/topics/stress-anxiety-difference

Gale, C., & Davidson, O. (2007). Generalized anxiety disorder. BMJ, 334(7593), 579–581. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.39133.559282.be

Harvard Medical School. (2020). National comorbidity survey. Retrieved from https://www.hcp.med.harvard.edu/ncs/index.php

National Alliance on Mental Illness. (2020). Anxiety disorders. Retrieved from https://www.nami.org/About-Mental-Illness/Mental-Health-Conditions/Anxiety-Disorders

NIMH. (2017). Any anxiety disorder. Retrieved from: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/any-anxiety-disorder.shtml#part_155097

NIMH. (2020). 5 things you should know about stress. Retrieved from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/stress/index.shtml

Taylor, C. B. (2006). Panic disorder. BMJ, 332(7547), 951–955. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.332.7547.951

What’s the Difference Between Stress and Anxiety?

Stress or anxiety disorder? Occasional stress is normal, but if you’re constantly freaked out, it might be something more serious, like an anxiety disorder.

What's stress?

What's anxiety?