Concepts such as anxiety, anguish and stress have become widespread currently. It seems to be common for us or someone around us to have suffered from these problems at some point. It would not be difficult to agree that they all refer to unpleasant states, which can range from momentary annoyance to generalized fear or terror, which can extend to overwhelm us on a daily basis.
Beyond understanding them as problems, do we know the differences between each concept? Is it possible that the confusion between terms makes it difficult for us to approach them?
The following is intended to provide information on the origin and nuances of each concept and the differences between anxiety, anguish and their relationship with stress to clarify the ideas we have and perhaps provide a little light when facing each of them.
Human beings have natural resources to protect themselves from danger, which is sometimes known as adaptive anxiety or fear. It would be like a tool that would act as a warning signal in the face of danger. For example, let’s imagine the following situation:
“We are walking calmly down an avenue, and we hear screams of terror and see people running in one direction. Without thinking, we run faster than ever, looking for somewhere to take refuge.”
In this situation, the interpretation of danger has been automatic , since it has generated the response of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), a key activation in what is known as “E situations” (escape, stress, emergency). When the SNS is activated, among other elements, hormones are released to increase blood pressure (such as cortisol) and neurotransmitters to prepare an explosive muscular action (catecholamines such as adrenaline, norepinephrine and dopamine) that allow this escape reaction and therefore , protection against a dangerous situation. At this point, fear protects us from imminent danger and therefore has an important functional value.
In this situation, Do we act based on fear or anxiety? The key difference between the two is that anxiety is related to anticipation, that is, to future, diffuse or unpredictable dangers, while fear is related to one or more present stimuli or situations.
Now, what happens if this adaptive mechanism is related to stimuli or situations that do not represent a real danger or threat? Despite individual differences and the particular way of living of each person, if the generalized fear or anxious state remains and intensifies, both in duration and frequency, generates negative consequences for overall health of the person who must be cared for.
Differences between anguish and anxiety
At the beginning of the 20th century, Sigmund Freud was the first to introduce the concept of anxiety in a technical way. He used the German term Angst to refer to a state of mind, with negative affect, with consequent physiological activation and, most importantly, based on something indeterminate, that is, without a known or definable object.
This concept was translated into English as anxiety and in Spanish It was translated with a double meaning: anxiety and anguish From here it could be understood that the two concepts appear as synonyms, in non-clinical settings, until today, used to describe an unpleasant psychophysiological state, which presents with great restlessness, uneasiness, restlessness in the face of imprecise dangers and/or that generate a exaggerated and maladaptive fear for daily life.
Although they are used colloquially as synonyms, In the current clinical setting, the differentiation between anguish and anxiety does appear The most widely used tool internationally for classifying mental disorders is the DSM-V (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), which includes a section dedicated to anxiety disorders.
This manual addresses distress as a subtype of anxiety disorders. In this sense, anxiety is defined as what is commonly known as a “panic attack” , explained as an episode of intense fear that lasts a short time. On the contrary, anxiety would refer to a state that lasts longer over time.
Anxiety can be found in a generalized way in multiple events or it can manifest in different areas and for different reasons or causes. At this point, the different known phobias (social phobia, agoraphobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, phobias of a specific stimulus…) would have anxiety as their driving force but would be differentiated according to the manifestations or triggering events.
Anxiety as such, beyond the nuances or explanations provided by the different currents within Psychology (psychoanalysis, gestalt, cognitive-behavioral…) must be understood from its complexity, since it encompasses a multidimensional response. This means that includes cognitive, emotional and physiological aspects characterized by an activation of the autonomic nervous system (made up of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems) that usually generates maladaptive behaviors and that can sometimes entail a high risk for the person who suffers from it.
Stress: a set of physical, psychological and social ailments
Once the concepts of anxiety and anguish have been explained, the concept of stress can be understood, which can include the above. In summary, stress could be understood as a negative relationship between the person and the environment This maladaptive relationship between the environment and the person is dynamic, bidirectional and changing, but its core is the fact that the person perceives that he cannot cope with environmental demands.
The situation is understood as a set of factors that exceeds the available resources themselves. At this point, the person could develop anxiety, anguish and other various physical and psychological problems, which would have as a common point the generation of deep discomfort
The complexity of relationships between the person and the environment make it a priority that anxiety, anguish and stress are addressed from a broad perspective and taking into account the multiplicity of factors involved (physiological, cognitive, emotional, social…) .
Given the influence of social factors in the implication of these problems that are already beginning to be known as “21st century diseases”, it is the responsibility of all people who are known to detect them and work on their management, especially in the prevention of diseases. themselves. If a person perceives some type of related problem, either in themselves or in someone around them, It is advisable that you attend to the symptoms, ask for help and the sooner the better to prevent these from generating more serious consequences.
Sierra, Juan Carlos, Virgilio Ortega, and Ihab Zubeidat. “Anxiety, anguish and stress: three concepts to differentiate.” Discomfort and subjectivity magazine 3.1 (2003).
