The latest well-being blog from The Pituitary Foundation written by psychologist Sue Jackson takes us through how the brain works according to Gilbert. This shows we have three areas of the brain:
headspace — learning and problem-solving
heart space — relationships with ourselves and others
threat system — which keeps us safe.
Ideally, we would stay in the head and heart space but that is sadly not the reality. A traumatic situation or event puts us into the threat system. Stress and anxiety can feel the same which is where this becomes complex.
Jackson breaks this down. Stress is defined as being, ‘situation-specific and immediate’ with a simple example being that you are about to go out of the door and you can’t find your car keys. In contrast anxiety around the same example is discussed as worrying about the whereabouts of your keys at random times during the day when you don’t actually need them.
For those with pituitary conditions, a very real example is: ‘You might be stressed if you’re in consultation with a healthcare professional, and you don’t understand what they’re telling you.
‘You might be anxious and worried if you have an appointment coming up and you’re having a lot of “what if” thoughts’.
Jackson continues: ‘Having a pituitary condition can change the way we experience our feelings, and I think a lot of healthcare professionals may not understand just how intensely people with a pituitary condition can experience their feelings of stress and anxiety.
She continues to look at types of mental health conditions such as Post-traumatic stress disorder and how this affects both patients and those close to them. A complex article but well worth the read.
There are many other theories and examples of stress versus anxiety that you can look at. This includes; ‘psychcentrals' blog and diagram which highlights the similarities and differences in symptoms experienced with stress and anxiety disorders.
Bridge to Recovery (Beverly Hill-based) has a blog which looks at five ways to track the difference between stress and anxiety. They recognise that the following should be considered;
Stress is mainly external
Anxiety is an excessive reaction to a given situation
Anxiety can cause you to be unable to function.
Anxiety causes feelings of dread and fear of things that haven’t happened or don’t exist.
Specific symptoms may signify an anxiety disorder.
Understanding what we are really feeling and experiencing can be important in managing the symptoms and allowing ourselves the time to recover successfully.
Read the full article from Sue Jackson here: https://www.pituitary.org.uk/news/2022/04/stress-awareness-month-differences-between-stress-and-anxiety/
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