Are stress and anxiety the same things?

Question

I've had three or four panic attacks and I've visited the doctor three times and the ER once. They told me that I have anxiety. The doctor I met with in the ER prescribed me to Xanax. The doctor I visit these days prescribed me to Lexapro (5 mg a day) and I haven't taken it. I also recently had a physical and it came back with full positive results. I often have feelings like I can't breathe and I struggle to breathe and I feel dizzy. This comes and goes. Is this more serious than what the doctors tell me? I don't have a family history of anything bad (minus high blood pressure on my mom's side) and I eat healthy and excersize and I'm not obese. Although I have had athsma when I was very young. When I think about it I get nervous and aggitated. Stress as I know, is bad for you. I tend to confuse heart malfunctions and stress and anxiety as being the same thing, but are they?

Answer 1

I agree with that whole nasty cylce thing above. It for sure is. It is not easy to deal with. If your PCP(primary doc) knows you better, it is probably better to take the medication they prescribed. Those anxiety attacks are hard to deal with, they are scary. The sooner you start taking it the sooner it will start working.

Your working out and eating healthy should have helped keep you on track, but sometimes extra stresses in life will bring this on. Stress can do so much to a body physically, even when you are healthy.

Maybe try to meditate. Just take a few minutes for yourself each day to clear your head of the stressful things in your life. try to picture something nice during this time a relaxing beach, or nothing at all. something right for you. good luck.

Answer 2

Stress in a major cause of anxiety. However some people can have anxiety without even being in a stressful situation.
Stress not only causes anxiety as you have it, but it can also have long term effects.
It can make you age faster, eat poorly, loose sleep, and even effect your heart and kidneys.
You definately need to continue your meds and try to find ways to deal with your stress so that you won't become too anxous and have panic attacks.
Sometimes just getting older and wiser will do it. We learn how to cope with daily problems as they come.
One major plus about getting old!

Answer 3

Heart malfunctions is one thin... stress is another... anxiety is another...

Anxiety is connected with stress but both things are different things... Anxiety is a state of mind of been worried about something... Stress is having your mind completely filled with tension, sometimes stress manifests in bodily pains...

I noticed that you said that when you think about asthma that you had when you where young, you feel nervous and agitated... The best advice I can give you on this is that you don't think that you had asthma...

I had asthma 7 years, asthma stoped when I was 16... it hasn't come back sine then.... so don't be worried about asthma, if you don't have asthma then it's almost for sure that it will not come back to you... so don't worry about it... but try not to think on asthma things... if not, you could program your mind to produce asthma attacks... it's incredible the power of the mind that can make you create things that doesn't exist...

I hope this advice helps you..

Answer 4

Stress causes anxiety. And having anxiety causes more stress. Lather, rinse, repeat - it's a nasty cycle.

You need to take your medication. I'm on Lexapro myself (20mg/daily). I will stop taking it when it's PRIED OUT OF MY COLD, DEAD HANDS. It has made such a big difference in my life and my sanity. 5 mg is a pretty small dose, and given what you're saying you'll probably need more, but you have to start somewhere.

At any rate, Lexapro has very minimal side effects so if that's your concern, don't worry about. OH! And I heard they're coming out with a generic version so it'll be even cheaper here shortly. :)

Come to think of it, if you want to talk to someone who's been on this medication, feel free to email me at [e-mail]

Answer 5

while i do not want to comment on your priscription of medicine,in your case stress and anxity are different faces of same coin.but if at all you want to differetiate it you can roughly say that the anxity is one which is yet to come and the stress is already existing one of which are worried about.

Answer 6

Somewhat. Check out (http://www.reducingstress.net ) there is a lot of great articles and expert advice on the subject there.