What's the difference between anxiety and just being nervous?
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Last Updated: 08/14/2018 at 1:36am
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Stacey Kiger, LPC
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Being nervous tends to be over a specific immediate act, such as being scared of heights. However being anxious tends to last longer. Also anxiety, may often be over something 'proxy' such as the fear of family dying, when the anxiety is in fact about starting college for example. Furthermore anxiety tends to be more intense, and can cause feelings of restlessness.
Anonymous
September 12th, 2015 8:04am
Nervousness is a variety of anxiety, but generally is about a specific event and vanishes after a period of time. Anxiety is all consuming - your mind has space for nothing else.
Anyone can be nervous, most people feel nervousness a few times a day. However anxiety is like being nervous while also balancing on a tightrope. It makes your chest hurt and your breathing hard and your head swim. It makes you think that it's going to last forever and that you're gonna go crazy and die. And on top of those (already bad symptoms), the lingering side effects of anxiety are even worse. It's a scary feeling compared to just being nervous.
Being nervous or experiencing anxiety can be a matter of diffrentiating between state or trait. Being simply nervous can just be based on the type of situation you're in-maybe you're ready to public speak or about to try something new. The feeling corresponds to your current state. Where anxiety can be worries or fears of something that may not even occur. You may suffer some physiological changes in yourself for the fears and worries of someone standing up in order to laugh at you while you public speak or that trying something new will result in serious harm to yourself. They can be situations that probably have no likelihood of occurring but the fact that you still continue to worry and feel anxious about it is what diffrentiates whether it's anxiety or just nervousness.
Anonymous
October 22nd, 2015 6:23pm
Anxiety is when you are feeling the symptoms on a daily basis. Nervous is a feeling that you get before an important event or something you have to do and want to do well on.
Theres no specific one fits all answer. However, if you are having anxious feelings that are interfering with your normal activities or everyday life, then perhaps seeking advice through a counselor or therapist could help with your feelings.
I think the difference between anxiety and just being nervous is, anxiety has a much bigger impact on your life. Being nervous is just a symptom of anxiety. Anxiety comes with physical symptoms (insomnia, trembling, forgetfulness, headaches, feeling dizzy, and more), too.
Anxiety has a stress element in a greater amount and also being nervous is not bad as it is required in one's life but anxiety has not a good impact on mind.
Nervousness and anxiety can be very much the same, but anxiety can also lead to panic attacks, and hyperventilation.
Anxiety is the clinical term for worry, nervousness or unease about a certain outcome. Being nervous is more natural as it is a person's response to a stimulus in the outside world. Anxiety tends to be caused by internal fears some of which are irrational.
The anxiety is an unwanted fear, that is fear without a stimulus or fear that is found to be irrational by the majority. Now nervous is being tensed of something that has a gr8 possibility of happenig
I think they both come hand in hand really, anxiety can make you nervous, and being nervous can raise your anxiety so you just have to tackle them both.
Anonymous
January 6th, 2016 9:02pm
The difference between anxiety and just being nervous is that when you are having anxiety, it is not alway about something logical. You can know that you have reason to be scared of a spider, but your body literally think it's dying so you're in high alert mode, even though you know you are not. When you're nervous you usually have a thing like a test you're afraid to fail, but you know you won't die from failing it.
Nervousness is less impacting, overall, than anxiety is. If you were to say nervousness is a slight fluttering of the heart before or during a situation, for example, than anxiety is your heart hammering in your chest simply at the thought of the situation (even if the situation isn't present.) Anxiety is in effect a more serious kind of nervousness that can have very physical effects including the way breathe and how your heart beats. It also typically fogs the mind and creates a "flight or fight" response throughout the body, which impacts rational thinking.
Anonymous
January 6th, 2016 3:18pm
Anxiety usually comes back repetitively and being nervous is usually only one time. Anxiety also have make you have a mental breakdown while being nervous does not.
Anonymous
January 6th, 2016 7:50am
I think that nervousness is a type of anxiety. Everyone gets some type of fight or flight feeling in onces life.
"I hear anxious as connoting someone who worries a lot, where as nervous connotes a person who is easily disturbed or distressed. I think you can generally use them interchangeably, but if you did want to make a fine distinction, the anxious person is more reacting to internal fears, the nervous person is reacting more to the outside world."
Anxiety is something that happens often. Being nervous, not so much. Anxiety is far far more severe.
Anxiety is a disorder in which you can't control how nervous you get, I have anxiety and when I am supposed to do speeches in front of my class, I get sweaty palms, light-headed, and sometimes I feel like I'm going to pass out or I feel super nauseous. just being nervous is when you are thinking too hard about something and are worried about the outcome.
Being nervous happens to everyone in common situations like public speaking, and usually happens before the event occurs, and the person will usually feel better once it's over.Anxiety makes someone feel intense and irrational fear, and usually involves symptoms including and increased heart beat, sweating, trembling and nausea.
Anonymous
January 3rd, 2016 2:25am
Nervousness is a natural human response but anxiety could result in panic attacks or avoidance. Nervousness is a very mild form of anxiety.
Anonymous
January 2nd, 2016 10:11pm
I am not an expert but anxiety is a troubling disorder, while nervousness, is a (temporary) feeling.
Anonymous
January 2nd, 2016 9:17pm
With anxiety, you feel like you can't function. You feel scared and you can even have panic attacks. You will know if you are just having a normal case of nervousness or if you are having a case of anxiety. Anxiety can be really extreme and nerve racking.
Anxiety is definite problems with somebody's psyche or chemical imblance and being nervous is more of a trait for somebody thats shy
From my own experience, anxiety comes more as a general feeling of unease, and it can be without any clear direct reason. It's more a feeling of helplessness, while being nervous is mostly apprehensions.
Anxiety is nervousness on another level. Sometimes Anxiety can lead to panic and can just paralyze you. Everyone gets nervous, but not everyone has Anxiety. If you feel you have anxiety on a regular basis you should speak to your doctor or health care professional.
Anonymous
December 30th, 2015 6:48pm
Anxiety is more of a long term thing it doesn't just come and the go and in some cases it is more extreme than just being nervous.
Anxiety is a physical force stopping you from doing certain things. its the difference between thinking:
Oh man, going on the bus today is really going to suck ...why me? there's too many people
and
I CAN'T GO ON THE BUS TODAY! I HAVE SCHOOL/ WORK BUT I CANT DO IT I CANT DO IT!
Anonymous
December 29th, 2015 10:32am
The main difference is that Anxiety is long-term state of mind whereas being nervous is a short-term state of mind.
Anonymous
December 27th, 2015 5:32am
Being nervous is a side effect of anxiety, anxiety has many levels. You might have a los anxiety or a hight one, but you must calm down at any cost
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