April is the month where we celebrate Stress Awareness Month. During this month, we increase public awareness about the causes of stress and how to help combat it in this harried, modern-day life. But since every year we have been celebrating and talking about this already, let us talk about the differences between stress, fear, and anxiety. Most of the time, because everything that is happening around us is already overwhelming, we tend to not identify anymore what this feeling we are experiencing already. We can sometimes not distinguish anymore if we are feeling stressed, afraid, or anxious.
Right now, let us talk about these 3: Stress, Fear, and Anxiety
What is Stress?
“Finish this report by today at 5 p.m.”
“Also, can you get this report’s powerpoint presentation done by tomorrow at 8 a.m. before my meeting? Okay, thanks. “
“I actually need you to go overtime today since we have to finish consolidating these reports for next week.”
Stress. Stress. Stress. These lines are familiar to you for sure. As a working employee, these are the signs of stress already. These are symptoms of work-related stress. But of course, there are also some other stresses that we tend to experience in different fields of our lives.
Stress is how we usually react when we are in a situation where we feel pressured or threatened. This feeling usually comes whenever we cannot control or manage the situation we are in.
To learn more about stress, click here.
What is Fear? 
You are watching a horror film with your friends. What do you feel? Scared right? You’re afraid of the jumpscares and the horror feeling while watching.
That is fear. For sure, you’ve felt fear from time to time. Fear is usually known as a negative emotion that arises when an identified threat happens. But in reality, it is not purely about being a negative emotion because it actually serves an important role in giving us a warning of every potential danger, not only a warning but also by allowing us to learn to cope with these dangers. Most of the time, we have four kinds of responses to this. These are the fight, flight, fawn, and freeze fear responses. If you want to know what kind of fear response you usually have, take our Fear Response Quiz and to learn more about fear, you can read more about it here.
What is Anxiety?
You’ve been having these uneasy feelings before your final exams. Even if the exams are not yet present, you still have this feeling.
This is what you call anxiety. It is your response to an unknown threat, such as that uneasiness you feel during exam week. This is also the emotion that is defined by the persistent and excessive worries that do not leave you, even if the stressor is not present anymore.
What Are The Differences Between Stress, Fear, and Anxiety?
Stress and fear are almost the same. They can both identify the actual source of the stressor or threat their bodies are reacting to. Stress is what happens when something causes a change in your stability. While with fear, this is an emotional response to a danger in which the danger or threat is definite or identifiable. And then anxiety is the emotional response to an imprecise or unknown threat.
So remember the time you’re already under pressure over your deadlines set by your boss. That is the stress that you are feeling. And when your boss tells you he does not like the work you are doing and threatens you with some action, this is the fear you already have. And whenever you sense that your boss at work does not approve of the work you are doing, this is the anxiety you are feeling already.
When it comes to work issues, especially your relationship with your colleagues, read our Leadership eBook for you.
What Are The Similarities Between Stress, Fear, and Anxiety?
These three, stress, fear, and anxiety, are all responses to something that is happening in your life. Basically, they are all equally likely to be a mental health problem. One cannot be bigger than the other, which means if you’re struggling with any of these, it’s best if you seek help or have a scheduled appointment with a therapist like us.
Shirley Therapeutic and Consulting Services, LLC is a diverse therapy clinic that can meet the needs of anyone. If you’d like to talk about your mental health, feel free to message us here.
References:
https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/stress/what-is-stress/
https://www.paulekman.com/universal-emotions/what-is-fear/
https://www.koganpage.com/article/stress-anxiety-and-fear-what-s-the-difference-and-why-s-it-relevant-to-the-workplace
