There is an important distinction between being stretched and being stressed ...
To understand anxiety, we need to understand about stress, because anxiety and stress are closely connected, though in two different ways. The first, perhaps most obvious, connection, is that very many anxiety problems arise because of chronic levels of stress. The second we will look at shortly.
What is stress?
Stress is any pressure or accumulation of pressures – physical or psychological – that is too much for a person to cope with comfortably. Therefore, what is perceived as a stress will vary from individual to individual.
A marathon runner, for example, will have no difficulty running three miles, yet that might well tax most of the rest of us beyond our endurance.
A stand-up comic may thrive on the ‘rush’ of performing live in front of an audience of hecklers, whereas just giving a short presentation to supportive colleagues will induce extreme panic in someone else.
Throughout our lives we may well have to cope with anxiety in many highly stressful events, ranging from the death of a loved one, relationship breakdown, divorce, job loss, financial difficulties, sex problems and chronic illness to even much longedfor events such as pregnancy, a new child in the family and retirement. And less marked changes in our circumstances, such as a change of job/college/school, a deteriorating relationship with a partner or friend, grown-up child leaving home, more or less responsibility at work or difficulties with a new boss, can all take their toll.
When several events like these happen at the same time or within a short time span, we can be pushed completely beyond our normal coping capabilities. But even lots of small stressful events (or ‘hassles’) that mount up over the day can have a strong negative effect on us.
It is often said that stress can be good as well as bad – getting married, for instance, or setting off on holiday are eagerly anticipated activities, yet they can also be highly
stressful. There is an important distinction, however, between being stretched and being stressed. When we are undertaking new challenges, whether planning a big event or learning a new skill, we are initially stretched beyond our comfort zone but, if we can rise to the challenge, it feels good. We feel excited. Whereas when we are stressed, we can’t rise to the challenge: we feel defeated and negative and that the effort is too much.
It feels bad, and we feel anxious, sometimes develop chronic anxiety. The physiological effects are initially the same (as we will show in a moment) but the outcome very different. In the first scenario, energy is discharged and something is achieved; in the second, there is nothing to show for it.
This is an important difference that needs to be more widely understood.
In other terms, which we will be explaining fully later, all forms of stress arise because, in one way or another (for whatever reason), one or more essential physical or emotional needs are not being met in a person’s life. It may be something that happens gradually – starting, perhaps, with loneliness due to the loss of a loved partner or the inability, because of overwhelming shyness, to make new friends – and then builds and builds in an insidious way, taking the light and enjoyment out of life.
Or it may be something that happens suddenly, as on those tragic occasions when people,
whose lives were working well, are caught up in a natural disaster or become the victims of violence – everything is changed in a flash, and their lives become ruled by fear, making it harder and harder for them to get their essential needs met.
When all of our needs are being met in balance and we are confident about our place in the world and about how we go about in it, we don’t suffer from seriously disabling anxiety and stress.
What role does stress play in causing anxiety and Anxiety Disorders?
Although stress causes anxiety, there is little evidence that it causes Anxiety Disorders, with the exception of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Adjustment Disorder with Anxious Mood. Stressors (stress-provoking factors) such as speaking in public or working under a tight deadline often make people anxious. If the anxiety is not extreme, it usually helps mobilize the person to prepare and perform well. If anxiety rises too high, however, people may become unable to deal with the situation they are in or to act normally. Different people vary in their capacities to tolerate and benefit from anxiety, and each person’s ability to cope with anxiety and danger varies somewhat from time to time.
With the exceptions of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which follows extreme stress beyond a person’s tolerance, and Adjustment Disorder with Anxious Mood, which is an overreaction to a psychosocial stressor, it is not clear that stress is important in causing Anxiety Disorders. Even where the stress seems causative, it is often impossible to specify exactly how this operates. The role that stress plays in causing Anxiety Disorders is undefined at present.