Stress Awareness Week: Are you stressed or anxious? Know differences, symptoms, remedy and signs you must not ignore

Stress vs Anxiety: With a hectic-work schedule, hassles and deadlines, adults today are particularly susceptible to stress and they mostly refer to their mental condition as being 'stressed out'. Many of us have a habit of fretting over petty issues which makes stress and anxiety a common issue. From office-going people to college-goers, everyone is vulnerable to stress. 

Since Stress Awareness Week is being celebrated globally from 7 to 11 November to raise awareness about stress prevention, we spoke to Dr Vikramjeet Singh, Senior consultant internal medicine at Aakash Healthcare Super Specialty Hospital, Dwarka, to spread awareness among our readers about stress management.

What is stress and what are its sign/symptoms?

Stress is when a person feels easily irritated with petty things that would otherwise go unnoticed. Things might be overwhelming, and sudden mood changes become a common sight, he said.

Dr Singh points out that irritability, digestive issues, difficulty in concentrating, muscle tension, and hair-fall are some of the most commonly seen symptoms of stress.

Stress vs anxiety: What is the difference?

Many of us confuse stress with anxiety. According to Dr Singh, external triggers usually cause stress; once the trigger is gone, stress vanishes. Whereas, anxiety is a persistent state of worry that doesn’t necessarily need an external stimulus. Moreover, you may say you're 'stressed out' when you get quickly angered by trivial things that would otherwise go unnoticed. Resultantly, erratic mood swings might be frequent.

Are you stressed? If yes, here is your solution

Take it slow — one thing at a time — is the mantra for a stress-free life and prioritizing goals can help one be more focused on what they are doing now. The doctor says that this should be practices, rather than thinking about all the other pending things.

Dr Singh advises that one should prepare a to-do list first thing in the morning and keep ticking off the list as they progress through the day. Keeping a journal and practicing meditation are other techniques for reducing stress.