You would think that anxiety is the same, no matter what the situation.
Yet, the opposite is true. Anxiety comes in many shades and can affect you in several different ways.
For the sake of this discussion, we can separate anxiety into two categories: temporary anxiety and chronic anxiety.
There are key differences between the two conditions. Some people experience one or the other, while others have to deal with a combination of the two. They may be experiencing chronic anxiety in regards to one issue, yet feel temporary anxiety over something completely different.
Here’s how to understand the differences between chronic and temporary anxiety.
Understanding Chronic Anxiety
You experience chronic anxiety over a long period of time. Usually, this is in terms of years, or even decades. Often chronic anxiety is rooted in a specific problem or issue in your life.
For example:
- Experiencing a loss
- Learning that germs are bad and to be avoided
- Witnessing or directly experiencing violence
- Avoiding social situations
With chronic anxiety, your habits or coping mechanisms to deal with your anxiety develop over a length of time. While these methods may seem to pacify you, that doesn’t mean that they’re healthy.
For instance, if you have a fear of getting sick from germs, then you might have developed hand-washing rituals to cope. Or in other instances of chronic anxiety, you use substances to deal with your emotions. Neither addresses the underlying cause of your anxiety.
If not addressed correctly, long-term, chronic anxiety can have significant consequences for both your emotional and physical health.
It’s Rooted in Fear
A key factor that plays into chronic anxiety is fear. Fear is a very powerful emotion. And although considered a negative emotion, it still serves a useful purpose.
Fear helps to keep you alive by avoiding situations that you believe are dangerous. This was useful thousands of years ago when there were many real life-threatening dangers for our ancestors. Yet, in the modern world, that same fear can pose a huge liability.
For instance, if you have a fear of social situations but feel obligated to interact with coworkers at an after-work event, that could initiate a panic response. Chronic anxiety, in the 21st century, creates barriers to success and is a hindrance rather than helpful.
Understanding Temporary Anxiety
Now, let’s shift the focus to temporary anxiety. The biggest differences between chronic anxiety and temporary anxiety are time and situations.
Temporary anxiety is a response to a stressful situation, also called situational anxiety. It’s not rooted in experiences that have occurred over your lifetime. Rather, the anxiety that you are experiencing at any particular time is dependent on your personal history and events occurring within that moment or situation.
For example, let’s say that you are at the airport, making your way to the security checkpoint. The line is much longer than you anticipated. You feel anxious that you will miss your flight. You constantly refresh the flight status on your phone and are itching to just get through security. Once you clear the scanners, you rush to your gate, and you breathe a sigh of relief when you finally sit down in your seat.
At that point, your anxiety subsides. The situation has passed and the temporary anxious feeling you’ve experienced over running late is gone.
The Complex Situation of Both Types of Anxiety
However, for the sake of illustrating the differences between chronic and temporary anxiety with this example, consider what would happen if you suffered from both types of anxiety.
For instance, what if you suffer from chronic anxiety due to a fear of flying? Now the picture becomes much more complex, and it may be harder to tell which one you’re experiencing during your time waiting to get through the security line. Are you fearful because you have to get on a plane? Or are you anxious because you’re running late? Does the temporary, situational anxiety override the general fear of flying at that moment? Or does your fear cause you to procrastinate and even hope that you’ll miss the flight?
It can be a conundrum. But, yes, it’s possible to suffer from chronic anxiety (such as fear of flying) and temporary anxiety (such as being stressed about missing your flight) at the same time. Each is reliant on the situation at hand.
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Clearly, having an anxiety response because of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is different than feeling anxious about being late for an appointment. However you slice it, though, both are stressful. Yet, one is rooted in deep issues that are connected to your upbringing. The other is more temporary, based on the situation at hand. By knowing the key differences between chronic and temporary anxiety, you can approach managing your anxiety successfully, no matter how it arises.
If you would like to know more about anxiety treatment and how it can help you with either chronic or temporary anxiety, please contact me or click on the link.
