College is a time when students start to experience life on their own for the very first time. More times than not they become overwhelmed with everything being thrown at them and they might not know how to juggle it all at once. School, work and relationships start to become harder to handle and students start to break down. It is because of situations like these that students might start to develop stress and anxiety.
So what’s the difference?
Stress
Stress can come from any event or thought (stressor) that makes you feel frustrated, angry, or nervous. Stress is not inherently good or bad and can come in 3 different forms: Eustress (Good), Neustress (Neutral) and Distress (Bad). Usually when talking about “stress” though we are referring to distress.
Small amounts of stress can be good, but larger amounts of stress may cause you many different problems
Common effects of stress:
On your body
• Headache
• Muscle tension or pain
• Chest pain
• Fatigue
• Change in sex drive
• Stomach upset
• Sleep problems
On your mood
• Anxiety
• Restlessness
• Lack of motivation or focus
• Irritability or anger
• Sadness or depression
On your behavior
• Overeating or undereating
• Angry outbursts
• Drug or alcohol abuse
• Tobacco use
• Social withdrawal
Anxiety
Anxiety is a feeling of fear, uneasiness, and worry often triggered by the stress in our lives. However, the source of these symptoms is not always known. Chronic anxiety usually develops into a disorder.
Anxiety Disorders include but are not limited to:
-Panic disorder
-Social anxiety disorder
-Phobia
-Generalized anxiety disorder
