Is it WORRY or ANXIETY?

As a disAbility advocate, I have blogged about the challenges of invisible conditions or diagnosis as well as those that may be very apparent (to even a total stranger). One that I don’t often write about is mental health diagnoses, surprising since I am a psychologist.

Life is hard. It doesn’t matter who you are, we all have a tough time at some point in our lives. All of us, to a person, also worry about things. These can be big things or small things. These can be small things you’ve made into BIG things. My Mom used to tell me, “Denise, you can make a mountain out of a mole hill!” When I was very young (8-10 years old) I thought it was a complement about achieving MUCH. It wasn’t until I was a teenager, seriously struggling with “worry over little things” that I understood the true meaning.

Worry is a normal part of life. We worry because we care. We can also have short periods of time where we experience true anxiety and that too, is normal. As a psychologist, I adhere to many APA (American Psychological Association) definitions and will provide that here for you. However, even these “textbook” definitions seem to lack something and want some fine tuning. I asked for definitions of WORRY and ANXIETY from one of my social media sites and found the “fine tuning” of these words very interesting. Let me provide those here (with permission):

“I feel as though worry can be a protective reaction meant to protect and caution beings. Whereas anxiety is an all-consuming concern that renders you unable to make rational determinations and hinders the decision making process”.

“To me worry has a specific target and is low intensity. I’m worried about my family driving in bad weather when they leave my house tonight. It’s a passing thought. I ask them to check in when they get home.

Anxiety doesn’t start with a target it’s an intense physical feeling of dread and fear that I will then attach to everything. Everything becomes the target. Disaster planning starts for every possible thing that could happen and what resources I have to overcome those disasters.”

“Worry feels thought driven. Though anxiety can be, for me it tends to sort of happen. Like I feel a coursing of chemicals in my body rush through and a step behind that, I think and process.

“I think anxiety occurs naturally for everyone and can be addressed more readily. Whereas I think worry is more deliberate – choosing to ruminate.”

“For me, worry is usually specific to something, and anxiety is free-floating and more irrational. Anxiety is usually more long-lasting, and I feel more out of control; worry can sometimes be alleviated by coming up with a plan B or something similar to that.”

“Worry to me is over thinking negative outcomes which may or may not be real. anxiety to me is a negative emotional response to a known or unknown stimulus that’s results in body changes such as elevated blood pressure, significant increases in heart rate and breathing, nausea, trembling, inability to rationalize reality, etc.”

“Worry to me is specific and directed toward one specific task or interpersonal relationship. Anxiety is a general feeling of apprehension, fear, or regret about multiple life events.”

“For me also, worry is specific and anxiety is a pervasive feeling of dread. It’s a fight or flight response chemically but there’s no immediate threat I need to escape from or fight off. One time I had a severe anxiety reaction while sitting at my desk, and there was nothing happening of concern. I will say that when there are a lot of different things that I’m worried about, It can bring on a more pervasive anxious state.”

“Worry are the waves and anxiety is the current. Those are the things I see and unseen issues sometimes randomly driving and daunting my soul.”

I was very impressed with the numerous responses.

The APA (APA, 2023) defines both as the following:

Worry: A temporary chain of thought that is a negative form of thinking and promotes distress.

Anxiety: n. an emotion characterized by apprehension and somatic symptoms of tension in which an individual anticipates impending danger, catastrophe, or misfortune. The body often mobilizes itself to meet the perceived threat: Muscles become tense, breathing is faster, and the heart beats more rapidly. Anxiety may be distinguished from fear both conceptually and physiologically, although the two terms are often used interchangeably. Anxiety is considered a future-oriented, long-acting response broadly focused on a diffuse threat, whereas fear is an appropriate, present-oriented, and short-lived response to a clearly identifiable and specific threat. —anxious adj.

At this point you may be asking, “Why are you detailing the difference between WORRY and ANXIETY”? Anxiety that continues and impairs your ability to live your “best life” is a mental health disorder and often needs help to improve. This help can come in the form of:

Self-help books or support groups
Licensed therapy/counseling
Anti-anxiety medications
“Natural” or “herbal” plant-based remedies

Again, short-term anxiety and worry is normal. It can even improve outcomes and produce positive change. For example, maybe you are worried about an exam so you study more thereby receiving a better grade. You temporarily feel anxious about a birthday party you are planning for your sister. Until the party is over, you may be anxious about everything going well because you care about her and want it to be a “hit”.

When anxiety begins to impair your ability to function normally (what is “normal” for YOU), you may need to seek the help of a counselor, therapist, or psychiatrist.

Living with disabilities, visible/invisible conditions, or chronic challenges are hard enough without trying to do so when you are also anxious. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI, 2023) states that anxiety disorders are the MOST COMMON HEALTH CONCERN in the United States. Note that they do not designate the diagnosis as a mental health diagnosis. This is because anxiety disorders impact us physically, emotionally, and spiritually. There is likely no other disorder with the power to do more harm—should we allow it to continue without seeking help.

I know that as a person living with numerous disabilities, I often focus on managing and treating my physical symptoms. However, I have learned that failure to manage/treat my mental health ultimately means that my overall health worsens. This is part of the reason I advocate so strongly for people to take their mental health seriously. If I were not managing/treating my anxiety and depression, ALL other symptoms and conditions would worsen.

Mental health disorders carry a lot of stigma and negative stereotypes. Let’s do our part by talking about and treating “mental health” as an important part of our overall health. This is the only way we can normalize mental health issues and promote taking care of ALL of who we are.

L. Denise Portis, Ph.D.

Anxiety (2023). American Psychological Association. Retrieved October 2023 from https://dictionary.apa.org/anxiety?_ga=2.200114798.1388236549.1668603216-581175404.1667400704

Anxiety Disorders (2023). National Alliance on Mental Illness. Retrieved October 2023 from https://www.nami.org/About-Mental-Illness/Mental-Health-Conditions/Anxiety-Disorders#:~:text=Anxiety%20disorders%20are%20the%20most,develop%20symptoms%20before%20age%2021.