Test Your Knowledge of Stress and Anxiety

Stress is your response to a change in your environment, be it positive or negative. Your body reacts to change -- falling in love, starting a new job, or suffering an unexpected loss -- with physical, mental, and emotional responses. Anxiety is an emotion that’s characterized by a feeling of apprehension, nervousness, or fear. 

Something that causes stress for you may not for someone else. Something that's a source of negative stress for one person -- such as a deadline -- might actually be helpful for someone else. 

In addition to unusual irritability, other emotional warning signs that may indicate a need to work on how you handle stress include a short temper and an inability to concentrate.

Any change in eating pattern, such as a loss of appetite (leading to weight loss) or overeating (leading to weight gain), can be a sign of stress. Other indicators include becoming less active, experiencing more conflict in relationships, and increasing your use of alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs.

Chronic stress is long-term stress, such as that caused by traumatic events or miserable living conditions. Untreated chronic stress can contribute to major depressive disorder, a form of intense depression that lasts for long periods and can prevent someone from living a normal life. Chronic stress also can contribute to physical illnesses, including high blood pressure, heart disease, and obesity.

One way to cope with stress is to set realistic goals at home and at work – even if that means lowering your expectations a bit. Other things that can help include accepting that some events are beyond your control, preparing well for things that you know may be stressful (such as a speech or an interview), trying to see change as a challenge instead of a threat, eating and drinking sensibly, getting plenty of rest, and exercising regularly.

Anxiety, which makes us nervous or fearful, may not always be enjoyable, but it is a normal and potentially helpful emotion. Mild anxiety can make you more alert and focused on facing challenging or threatening circumstances.

Although anxiety is a normal human emotion, people who experience extreme fear and worry that don’t go away may have an anxiety disorder. Each anxiety disorder has its own specific symptoms. For example, panic disorders cause sudden, uncontrollable feelings of terror, and social anxiety disorder involves the fear of being in unfamiliar social situations with expectations of scrutiny by others. Both can also manifest with physical symptoms such as shaking or breaking out in a sweat.

About 40 million American adults (18 and older) are affected by anxiety disorders each year. That's about 18% of the adult population.

Women are twice as likely as men to be affected by generalized anxiety disorder, which is characterized by at least 6 months of excessive, unrealistic worry over everyday problems.

Anxiety disorders can be treated with medication, psychotherapy, or a combination of the two. The primary medications prescribed for anxiety disorders are certain antidepressants, anti-anxiety drugs, and sometimes beta-blockers to control physical symptoms.