Stress, anxiety or anxiety disorder? Here's how to tell the difference

Anxiety disorders affect twice as many women as men. Researchers estimate that they affect between 15 and 201 individuals at some point during their lives.

Among these disorders, phobia is the most common. Many psychological, biological and environmental factors can contribute to their occurrence,” explains theHealth Insurance. It is often difficult to identify the cause. Family history, traumatic events, alcohol or drug consumption, taking certain medications or even medical problems...

Distinguishing between stress, anxiety and anxiety disorder

When faced with an exam or a job interview, we experience a passing fear, a normal stress reaction to a worrying situation. On the other hand, we can define anxiety, often called "anguish", as " an excessive but temporary reaction to a situation felt as a threat. It is experienced as a painful apprehension of a danger whether it is precise or poorly identified", can be read on the Ameli website. It is the intensity that allows us to differentiate stress from anxiety or anguish.

When the latter is repeated, becomes established over time or occurs without any link to real danger, we then speak of "anxiety disorders". They are expressed differently depending on the person, and are classified into several diseases.

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Generalized Anxiety and Panic Disorder

Generalized anxiety, or generalized anxiety disorder, is associated with a state of constant and difficult to control worry, concerning different themes (work, money, health, etc.). The person is in a state of almost permanent anxiety and fear and his worries are disproportionate to the reality of the risks. He is in a state of extreme vigilance with regard to his entourage and his environment", indicates Health Insurance. It can be accompanied by other physical symptoms: headaches, muscle pain, fatigue, insomnia, etc.

Panic disorder, on the other hand, is more about the repetition of panic attacks and the fear of their occurrence. In fact, it is characterized by the fear, in anticipation, of a new panic attack. In other words, the 'fear of being afraid', simplifies Ameli.

Phobias and OCD

Phobias are also part of anxiety disorders. We distinguish social phobia, anxiety related to the gaze of others and social relationships, from specific phobias, such as belenophobia (fear of needles) or claustrophobia (fear of being locked up). It is possible to treat these disorders using cognitive-behavioral therapies.

They allow, through a series of steps, to change one's interpretation of anxiety-provoking situations. And help the patient to better manage and prevent his anxieties thanks to breathing exercises for example. They can also use " behavioral techniques with gradual exposure to feared situations gradually leading to desensitization, deconditioning of fear. Exposure can be done in a real environment, alone or with the therapist or, if the apprehension is too strong, first in imagination in a very progressive way", describes the Health Insurance website.

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Anxiety disorder can also manifest itself through obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). A combination of obsessions and compulsions, with a heavy impact on everyday behavior. But what exactly are they? They are often linked to specific themes:

• Dirt

• sacrilege

• Sexuality

• Order

• fear of being responsible for disasters

The person then feels forced to repeat certain actions to chase away the obsession and calm down, such as washing hands, checking, tidying up according to precise rules, counting or even silently repeating certain words.

Post-traumatic stress

This anxious state follows a traumatic event, during which the person was in serious danger. It can last several months and is expressed by different symptoms, as Ameli recalls:

• flashbacks (the traumatic event is constantly relived) and nightmares

• behaviors of avoiding places, people, words… evoking trauma

• Disturbed behaviors such as hypervigilance to threat, exaggerated startle reactions, inability to concentrate, insomnia

• suffering or an alteration of social or professional functioning, etc.

Are there any treatments for anxiety disorder?

Faced with these disorders, several solutions exist. In addition to cognitive-behavioral therapies, which are particularly effective on phobias and OCD, psychotherapy is recommended. And this is true regardless of the anxiety disorder. It acts on behaviors that can promote the appearance or persistence of anxiety,” adds Health Insurance.

Sometimes, it is associated with drug treatment: antidepressants or anxiolytics. Often the first ones are to be taken even after the symptoms have disappeared. As for anxiolytics, they act quickly, and can be used as a complement to a basic treatment. However, they have many undesirable effects, such as daytime drowsiness, memory impairment, dependence and behavioral disturbances in the event of associated alcohol intake.