NERVOUSNESS VS ANXIETY
Source: Vitae International
People often confuse anxiety with nervousness, much like how sadness and depression are often mistaken for one another. However, feeling nervous and anxious are two completely different things. In this article, we talk about the differences between feeling anxious and nervous, how to distinguish between feeling anxious and nervous, and towards the end, I will talk about my experience in dealing with anxiety and how I manage it.
While both anxiety and nervousness are responses to stress, nervousness is milder and more short-lived. You may feel nervous as a result of an upcoming performance or competition, exam, presentation, or job interview, or before going on a date. Feeling nervous prepares your body for an event, exciting it and revving it. It plays a key part in a person’s ‘fight’ or ‘flight’ response to a situation. Channeling your nervous energy effectively can actually enhance your performance at an event. In this case, the nervousness may even improve your performance. It helps you pre-plan for an event. Feeling nervous helps you handle potential threats and prepares your body emotionally for an event. Most importantly, you can identify what it is that’s making you nervous.
When a person feels nervous, they might sweat, feel restless, feel like they’re running out of breath, have trouble concentrating, and experience a decline in their confidence levels. You know that these feelings are normal and that they will pass. Feeling nervous most often won’t stop you from doing what you have to do. When you face the situation that triggered the feeling of ‘nervousness’ and get it over with, the feeling disappears. It doesn’t consume you and you know that feeling nervous is only temporary - that it would pass.
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On the other hand, it might be difficult to identify a cause of anxiety - why and what it is that’s making you feel anxious. It might be because of an exam, a job interview, a loved one falling ill, a life change - relocation or a new career/job, or a competition. Sometimes, you may not even know why you feel anxious; it may just come with the wind, making you sit in bed and wonder why you are feeling the way you’re feeling. Anxiety is more persistent than nervousness in that it may stick around for a long time, even after the situation (if it exists) that you’re feeling anxious about passes. It is not short-term. Being anxious involves a vicious, never-ending loop of worrisome and negative thoughts that makes you spiral and come up with situations that may be far from reality. This may tire an anxious person up physically and emotionally, leaving them feeling exhausted and drained.
Some symptoms that an anxious person may feel are: sweating (profusely), frustration and being on edge, feeling angry, splitting headaches and gastrointestinal issues, trouble falling asleep (insomnia), and trouble with memory. When I feel anxious I sweat on my palms and feet so much so that it feels like I’ve just washed my hands. Another physical symptom I experience is diarrhea and a lack of appetite. I feel like there’s a cold drop of water that travels all over my body (the cold leg feeling I talk about in my book), chilling it along the way (while I sweat). I feel like my intestines are twisting inside my body. I experience an elevated heart rate and shortness of breath - so much so that I find it difficult to breathe at times. My mind spirals as it gets caught in a never-ending loop of thoughts that intensifies by the second (more about this in my book). In the end, I end up feeling exhausted mentally and physically as anxiety in my experience drains me. It takes me a while (sometimes days) to recover from an anxiety attack.
One thing I’ve learned from my struggles with anxiety is that these feelings stem from caring deeply. If I were indifferent, it wouldn’t matter to me as much. In this regard, I’ve learned to try and take things easy and train my brain to think ‘If it doesn’t work out, I’ll be okay - it’s not the end of the world’. This is easier said than done and it’s something I struggle with to this day. A growth mindset I believe is key in tackling anxiety. Another important lesson I’ve learned is to not have a preconceived idea of how a situation may work out because if it doesn’t play out the way you wanted it to, you may end up feeling anxious and disappointed - having an open mind is very important. I hope you enjoyed reading this article and feel free to comment below with your thoughts!
Sources:
https://www.verywellmind.com/is-it-normal-anxiety-or-an-anxiety-disorder-2584401
https://www.drakeinstitute.com/nervousness-vs-anxiety
https://mypsychiatrist.com/blog/nervousness-vs-anxiety-whats-the-difference/