What’s the Difference Between Anxiety and Nervousness?

It’s common for most to use the words nervousness and anxiety interchangeably. However, the fact is that the medical definitions of the two are significantly different. It leads to the question, “How’s anxiety different from nervousness?”

Before you know the difference between the two, you must first learn about their similarities. Anxiety and nervousness are both stress responses. What’s more, most people experience them at some point in their lives. They share a few symptoms in common and work by activating the body’s fight-or-flight response. Still, they have more differences than similarities. Read on to know more.

About Anxiety and Its Symptoms

Anxiety is a stress response that results in symptoms like extreme fear, misapprehension, and/or worry. Indeed, some cases of anxiety have specific triggers. However, anxiety usually occurs without any valid reason. When there’s no obvious cause of anxiety attacks, patients are typically diagnosed with GAD or generalized anxiety disorder.

You must seek professional help if your anxiety is stopping you from leading a normal life. Your psychiatrist will ensure the problem doesn’t disrupt your relationships, academics, work, or social life.

Adults with anxiety disorder can experience the following symptoms:

• Extreme fatigue
• Irritability
• Anticipation of the worst
• Extreme fear
• Lack of focus
• Racing thoughts
• Constant self-doubt
• Phobias
• Inner restlessness
• Substance abuse

Symptoms experienced by children are typically a little different. You should take your child to a psychiatrist if you notice one or more of the following symptoms bothering him/her persistently:

• Clinging behavior
• School avoidance
• Tantrums
• Difficulty concentrating
• Nightmares
• Avoidance or fear of social gatherings 

Anxiety symptoms are not always psychological; you may also experience physical symptoms due to anxiety. Examples include:

• Digestive disorders
• Frequent urination
• Muscle tension (more common in the shoulder and neck)
• Teeth grinding
• Diarrhea and nausea
• Excessive sweating
• Palpitations
• Headaches
• Dizziness
• High blood pressure
• Breathing difficulties
• Increased heart rate
• Trembling

When Should You Seek Medical Intervention for Anxiety?

Medical experts believe that the stress-response in humans gets triggered when they feel threatened. The moment our brain anticipates a looming danger, the adrenaline production increases, and the brain sends the hormone to different parts of the body. These changes prepare us to fight the upcoming danger or to run away from the situation.

The adrenaline rush results in elevated blood pressure, increased heart rate, a decrease in the levels of digestive enzymes, etc. When the adrenaline levels are high, the liver releases glucose into your bloodstream. All these changes will make you feel apprehensive. All these changes start to reverse the moment you feel secure.

If it is a one-off incident, getting back to normal life will not take much effort. However, if such episodes are frequent, your chance of developing chronic anxiety is extremely high. Frequent anxiety attacks will disrupt your daily life. You should get yourself checked by an experienced psychiatrist as soon as possible if you don’t want to see your symptoms getting worse.

About Nervousness and Its Symptoms

As you already know, nervousness is also a stress response like anxiety. Like anxiety, nervousness will also make you experience both psychological and physiological symptoms. Nervousness is temporary and can bother you whenever you are not in your comfort zone.

Indeed, many symptoms of nervousness are observed even in patients with anxiety. These include the symptoms involving muscles, heart rate, sleep quality, etc. However, when it’s just nervousness, the symptoms are milder and don’t bother the sufferer for a long time. Here are some common symptoms of nervousness:

• Irritability
• Headaches and body aches
• Sleep disturbances
• Shaking or trembling
• Numbness
• Increased heart rate
• Fatigue
• Chest tightness
• Excessive sweating
• Diarrhea

How Will You Differentiate Between Anxiety and Nervousness?

It’s often difficult to differentiate between the two conditions thanks to their common symptoms. If you are nervous, your symptoms will be less intense and debilitating than those experienced by people with anxiety. Anxiety rarely occurs due to a specific trigger, while nervousness always has a clear trigger. For instance, you become nervous before exams or an upcoming public performance. Nervousness is common in people who are about to face an unprecedented situation.

Nervousness doesn’t cause lasting fear. When the situation triggering the problem is over, nervousness will be gone. Anxiety doesn’t resolve so easily. Things become worse when the anxiety attack has no specific reason.

Conclusion

If you find it difficult to realise whether you have anxiety or nervousness, visit the psychiatry department of Magnet Health. Get yourself checked by an experienced psychiatrist of this revered multispecialty clinic to enable an accurate diagnosis. Call the clinic to get a quick appointment; the representative picking up your phone will help you get a same-day appointment if your symptoms are severe.

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