{"id":1114,"date":"2023-06-07T14:53:32","date_gmt":"2023-06-07T14:53:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reconnecttherapy.gr\/?p=1114"},"modified":"2023-06-07T14:53:32","modified_gmt":"2023-06-07T14:53:32","slug":"ta-pos-ta-giati-tou-agchous-tou-stres-ti-na-kaneis-pote-oste-na-diacheiristeis-stresogones-katastaseis-me-iremia-dimiourgikotita","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zen-yalow.213-158-90-34.plesk.page\/en\/ta-pos-ta-giati-tou-agchous-tou-stres-ti-na-kaneis-pote-oste-na-diacheiristeis-stresogones-katastaseis-me-iremia-dimiourgikotita\/","title":{"rendered":"The hows & the whys of anxiety (& stress), what to do & when, in order to manage stressful situations with calm & creativity."},"content":{"rendered":"

(A complete guide to managing anxiety and other stressful emotions.)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n



What is anxiety? What is stress? (the psychological definition)<\/strong><\/h2>
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What is stress?;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a> Stress can be defined as any change in the external or internal (bodily) environment,<\/strong> which can cause emotional or psychological pressure. Stress is the body's response to anything that demands its attention,<\/strong> so that it can take action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Sapolsky (1994), stress encompasses the concept of loss, specifically the loss of control, predictability, outlets,<\/strong> social support, and all these lead to frustration and an increasingly worsening perception of things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is interesting how the term stress derives from the root of the Latin strictus,<\/strong> which means tight or narrow and is the past participle of the verb stringere which means to squeeze. It literally describes how pressure increases on a solid body and is thus used to describe emotional or mental pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is anxiety?;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our attempt to define anxiety,<\/strong> we could say that it is the subjective emotional feeling that every person has towards the stressful stimuli of life. The intensity of anxiety is related to a person's perception of a specific event,<\/strong> regarding whether they are in danger and to what extent,<\/strong> as well as whether they will be able to cope with it effectively (\u201cwill I manage it?\u201d).<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n


What is the difference between anxiety and stress?;<\/h2>
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We hear both ourselves,<\/strong> and others daily using phrases during emotionally demanding moments such as: \u201cI feel stressed\u201d, \u201cI am stressed out\u201d, \u201cI got anxious\u201d, \u201cI've been feeling a lot of anxiety lately\u201d etc. The terms \u201canxiety\u201d and \u201cstress\u201d, although frequently used to describe a perhaps common emotional state, are not identical and have the following differences. It is important to distinguish between the differences of anxiety and stress, because this distinction is of great importance beyond simply understanding them, influencing how we manage each one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Firstly, stress refers to an internal state, which is characterised by the disruption of homeostasis in the here and now and originates from an environmental stimulus. For example, when we hit (stress) a piece of metal with a hammer. In our case, the blow constitutes the stressor, which causes an imbalance in the metal's molecules. Regarding humans, stress stimuli vary, such as the early morning rays of the sun, the digestion of food, exercise which at appropriate levels is beneficial for the organism and helps it grow and adapt to its environment in the best possible way. On the other hand, there are stressors such as a break-up, the death of a loved one, a change in daily life such as retirement, which might function negatively for the organism, because it will need more time to find its homeostasis again. The purpose of the body's stress response is to help us adapt as effectively as possible in the face of life's uncertainty and whatever challenges it offers us daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moving on to anxiety, we can say that it constitutes a pervasive worry, which does not concern specific reasons as I described earlier for stress. The purpose of anxiety is to prepare us emotionally and mentally for events that, according to our experiences, our unconscious judges that it needs to prepare us for. Unlike stress (where the reasons are clear), in the case of anxiety there is not always full awareness of what is creating it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, we experience stress for as long as the stressor lasts, whereas with anxiety, even though the stressor has been removed, we continue to experience it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we take the example of retirement, during which objectively there are changes in daily life that need to be sorted out (change of lifestyle, habits, change of context both in work and interpersonal relationships etc.), these constitute a set of stressful situations. However, anxiety can be created by a crisis in a person's identity, feeling anxious about how they can exist in their new situation today and what meaning their life will have anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This separation helps us tremendously in understanding, but also in stress and anxiety management<\/strong>. Specifically, regarding stress, our approach can focus on techniques for managing external situations (communication with people, time and energy management, organisation, goal setting, etc.). Whereas in the case of anxiety, it is important for information to come from our unconscious so that we can become aware of the deeper reasons why we experience anxiety and then aim to heal our corresponding internal parts.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n


Are anxiety and stress related?;<\/strong><\/h2>
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Yes, of course they are! One can cause the other. Specifically, when an external stimulus (such as a transfer at work) acts as stress on our organism, due to the changes that need to take place, it can simultaneously raise internal worries and anxiety, such as performance anxiety in the new position. Of course, the reverse can also happen; as we saw above, stress starts from a stressful stimulus, which could be internal and stem from anxiety. Continuing the example of the transfer, performance anxiety which is repeated with an internal dialogue such as: \u201cI don't think I'll make it\u201d, \u201cI'm not capable\u201d, \u201cperhaps I'm not the right person for this position\u201d, can be the stimulus for a stress reaction of the organism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In this case, we can be led into a distressing vicious circle, where an external stimulus causes stress, stress mobilises the anxious internal dialogue, which acts as a stimulus for stress. The vicious circle I am describing is presented in the diagram below:<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n


What are the symptoms of anxiety?;<\/h2>
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Below I will describe simply and comprehensibly, away from incomprehensible psychiatric terms, what the symptoms of anxiety are or, in other words, how the psychologically stressful triggers of our daily lives show that our organism needs rest, peace, or even psychotherapy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Very often, when the stressful stimuli we have to process are numerous and intense, we may come into contact with our emotions and express that all of this has affected us emotionally. Under the influence of intense stress you may feel:<\/p>\n\n\n\n