What’s the difference between feeling anxious and feeling scared?
Racing heart, difficulty breathing, wanting to run away, freezing in your tracks, difficulty talking, can’t think straight…
Wait, this sounds familiar? This is the same way I started the post: How Anxiety Feels
It also sounds a lot like feeling scared. Right?
Today I am identifying what the difference is between anxiety and feeling scared. By the end of this post you will have better understanding of the difference between the two.
Let’s start with defining each:
Anxiety is:
“Anxiety is an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts and physical changes like increased blood pressure,” as defined by the American Psychological Association.
Scared is:
feeling fearful or frightened.
The definition of being scared is: “thrown into or being in a state of fear, fright, or panic,” as defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
Differences of Anxiety and Scared
Scared is a temporary feeling. Anxiety, on the other hand, tends to have a longer lasting impact. Anxiety notably has effects on your nervous system and results in physical and emotional stress. Scared, or being scared, is temporary and is not long lasting.
Scared can result in a fast heart rate, but the feeling of scared does not stay with you as long. You typically return to homeostasis much faster from being scared versus when you are feeling anxious.
Additionally, fear or being scared follows an event that is known or understood. Your friend jumps out at you behind a door, you scream, you feel scared, you jump, your heart is racing, AND you also know what the threat is.
On the other hand, anxiety is a result of a threat that is not understood, or not as clearly defined. Sure, we can know that social situations cause us to be anxious, but it is not as clearly defined.
Why does going to the store cause anxiety for me?
Why do I worry about what others are thinking about me? And why does it bother me so much?
The two, anxiety and scared (or fear), look similar… symptoms can overlap… and the terms are often used… but they definitely are not interchangeable terms.
Additionally, anxiety tends to be a before effect; whereas, scared or fear tend to be an after effect.
For example, you might feel anxious about an upcoming doctor’s appointment.
You might feel scared if at the doctor’s appointment, the doctor orders you more tests.
Anxiety tricks us to thinking about the possibility of something happening; whereas, scared or fear is a result of something happening. Again, think about your friend jumping out at you.
The tricky part is that fear can elicit anxiety, and the opposite is true as well… Anxiety can elicit fear. But the thought process between the two are notably different and are worth exploring so that you can learn effective ways of coping.
Anxiety does NOT have to steal your happiness.
Are you suffering from anxiety? Are you concerned that anxiety might be taking over your decisions? Reach out. Ask questions.