How are you playing your anxiety levels?

When we say we are stressed, anxious or depressed are we all talking about the same thing?

A lot of us use sweeping statements about how we’re feeling without considering the specifics of how we are feeling, our emotions and our thoughts. 

On the other hand, we may not like to over-dramatise what is boiling up inside of ourselves so playing it low-key is better and will hopefully avoid raising any concerns.  Being low-key means, we can hopefully fly under the radar within ourselves and others.  Dismissing what we’re seriously thinking and feeling is so much easier and we hope it will all go away. As if by magic.

But how useful is this dismissal and low-key attitude?

It will all depend on the following:

• How honest you are with yourself about your emotions, thoughts and feelings.
• How you connect what you're specifically thinking and feeling with the different aspects of stress, anxiety and depression.
• How ready you are to change your emotions, thoughts and feelings.

I think the first thing is to look at the basic differences between stress, anxiety and depression because what you notice is going to be the key to which direction you take next. 

It is crucial to recognise the difference between stress, anxiety and depression because they will require different support styles and management systems.

Here are some reasons why it’s important to recognise the distinctions between stress, anxiety and depression.

1. Proper Diagnosis and Treatment

Each condition has distinct causes, symptoms, and treatments.

Stress is often short-term and linked to external pressures. It may be resolved by addressing the source and improving coping strategies.

Anxiety is a persistent feeling of fear or worry, often unrelated to a specific event, and may require therapy, medication, and lifestyle changes.

Depression is a prolonged state of sadness and disinterest that affects physical and mental functioning, requiring more intensive treatment.

2. Effective Coping Strategies

The strategies that help with one condition may not work for another:

Stress management might involve time management or relaxation techniques.

Anxiety often benefits from mindfulness, talking therapy, or medication.

Depression may require support from mental health professionals and addressing underlying biological or psychological combined with developing positive coping strategies.

3. Preventing Escalation

Stress can sometimes lead to anxiety or depression if not managed effectively. Recognising and addressing these issues early can prevent long-term and more serious consequences.

4. Improved Communication and Understanding

Understanding these distinctions helps individuals express their feelings more clearly and seek specific help.

It also helps friends, family, and colleagues provide the right kind of support.

5. Stigma Reduction

Many people misunderstand or minimise mental health struggles. Education about these differences fosters empathy and reduces stigma.

Knowing the differences and being honest with yourself empowers you to take appropriate actions, seek timely help, and foster healthier relationships with yourself and others.

What Now?

Practising self-honesty and being honest about how you are thinking and feeling is something I talk about in my book “4 Steps to Emotional Freedom”.  If we don’t start taking action on our stress, anxiety and depression it is only going to grow and develop into something else, often something worse.  Waiting for something miraculous or for it to suddenly evaporate will not happen.  Our reptilian brain has evolved to be too efficient by triggering automatic responses for these miracles and evaporations to happen.  I talk about in “4 Steps to Emotional Freedom” the spiral of change.  The further we go down that spiral of change the harder it is to move ourselves back up, to restore our emotional balance and emotional freedom. 

Our bodies are like a complex series of mechanisms and cogs.  Therefore, it’s important to understand yourself and your body.  It is also important to notice how your mechanisms and cogs are working so that you can notice when you’re feeling off balance, or if you are sliding down your spiral of change. Noticing, not ignoring, what you are saying to yourself, what your body is telling you and challenging yourself to face it head on so you can look at how you want your future to be.  However, the key here will always be starting to take action.  As I now call it, being bothered, about yourself, and your emotional, mental and physical well-being and kick start your “4 Steps to Emotional Freedom”.

Start taking action today by following these 4 tips

• Listen to your self-talk. Is it saying things you don’t like?
• Listen to what your body is telling you.  Is it grumbling at you with aches and pains that you keep ignoring?
• How are these making you feel about yourself?
• How is this affecting your life?
• How is this making you behave?
• Start taking action to address your negative self-talk and the grumbles your body is making.