When Stress Becomes Anxiety: Is It a Problem or a Prediction?

When Stress Becomes Anxiety: Is It a Problem or a Prediction?

All through September, we talked about your nervous system: stress signals, regulation, and the idea that calm isn't the only healthy state. This month, we're taking that conversation one step further into anxiety.

Anxiety doesn't always look like a panic attack. Sometimes it looks like overthinking, irritability, procrastinating, or being incredibly productive. Sometimes it's asking "are you sure you're not mad at me?" for the third time, Googling the same question for the fifth time, or lying awake at 2 a.m. holding a very serious meeting with yourself about a problem that doesn't exist yet.

In this episode, Jessica breaks down the difference between stress and anxiety, why anxiety has such a hard time with uncertainty, and one simple question that can help you create a little space between you and the worry.

In this episode, we talk about:

• How stress and anxiety overlap, and how they're different
• Why stress usually responds to what is happening, while anxiety responds to what might happen
• Anxiety's difficult relationship with uncertainty, and how it tries to create certainty through overthinking, preparing, Googling, and reassurance-seeking
• Why planning and worrying are not the same thing
• The key question: Am I dealing with a problem, or a prediction?
• Why your body reacts to an anxious story as if it's happening right now
• Why the goal isn't to stop worrying, but to start recognizing what's happening when anxiety shows up

Try this this week:

When you notice yourself getting caught in a worry, pause and ask:

1. What is actually happening right now?
2. What am I predicting might happen?
3. Is there an action I need to take, or am I trying to create certainty?

You don't have to make the anxiety disappear. Just notice.

Coming up next week: Your anxiety is actually trying to protect you, even when it's making your life harder. Understanding why your brain learned to do this can help you stop fighting anxiety and start responding differently.

Free resource:

Feeling disconnected from yourself, or so used to pushing through that you're not sure what you need anymore? Download Your Personal Care Plan, a free guide to help you slow down, check in, and think intentionally about what actually supports you. Find it in the resource library at heal.jessicacolarcolcsw.com.

Want to go deeper? Explore courses and other offerings at heal.jessicacolarcolcsw.com.

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