Anxiety, Fear and Stress – Are they different?

Stress Reducer — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:30:01 +0000

Did you read the New York Times article, Understanding the Anxious Mind, yesterday? Pretty interesting, but was it helpful for the stressed among us?

One of the points I found particularly interesting was…

ANXIETY IS NOT fear, exactly, because fear is focused on something right in front of you, a real and objective danger. It is instead a kind of fear gone wild, a generalized sense of dread about something out there that seems menacing — but that in truth is not menacing, and may not even be out there. If you’re anxious, you find it difficult to talk yourself out of this foreboding; you become trapped in an endless loop of what-ifs.

Fear can be stressful but if we look at fear as a real response to real danger, it’s safe to say it is not a chronic condition because it passes once the danger passes.

Fear is a call to action. We need to respond in order to get out of a dangerous situation. What makes anxiety and stress so debilitating is how chronic they are. We are ‘flight or fight’ mode all the time. Yes it does go up and down, but for most of us, there is a constant undercurrent of anxiety and stress which over time is damaging to our emotional and physical health.

The article was actually quite hopeful in looking at how even with a temperamental inclination, environment can play a big role in mitigating the effects of temperament. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the research, as yet, does not show us the best way to stop anxiety in children who exhibit ‘high reactor’ tendencies. What they do say is this…

The best outcome, however it happens, is to rear a child who learns to wrestle his demons on his own. Some children figure out themselves what works best.

So what do you think? How can parents help their ‘high reactor’ children? Were you a ‘high reactor’ growing up? What helped you or hindered you in dealing with your temperament?

Please share your thoughts by leaving a comment.

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