Differences between anxiety and fear

Fear is a physiological defense reaction to potential dangers, generally associated with an identifiable threatening external stimulus. It is adaptive, in that it is useful for survival, as it prompts a fight-or-flight response to the identified threat. Anxiety, on the other hand, consists of the same reaction, but without such a danger existing, or—even if it does—its intensity and frequency are disproportionate.

Anxiety has the following characteristics:

1. Disproportionate fear in relation to the threatening nature of the situation.
2. It leads to the avoidance of the feared situation.
3. It is irrational in nature: there is no possible logical explanation for the phenomenon, so the person already knows that "it's not that big of a deal," but has the feeling of not being able to manage it.
4. They exceed the voluntary control of "I can't".
5. They produce a certain degree of discomfort or suffering.

Anxiety is often anticipatory, in that it warns of a possible future danger. It is maladaptive in that it anticipates an unreal or disproportionate danger. Finally, it becomes pathological when it is more frequent, intense, or persistent than the "appropriate" and expected fear in certain threatening situations.

Despite being different emotions, we often use the words "anxiety" and "fear" interchangeably. There are two criteria or parameters that can help us differentiate between the two concepts:

• Level of stimulus specificity: Fear is identified as a concrete state; that is, what frightens us is a specific stimulus or situation, such as an airplane, a dog, needles, the dark, etc. Therefore, this stimulus is something that can be avoided. In contrast, anxiety is considered an emotional state of worry, unease, and restlessness, often experienced without knowing why it has arisen, and, in most cases, difficult to associate with a specific stimulus or situation.
• Predominant response system: In anxiety, cognitive, internal responses predominate, while in fear, motor and behavioral responses predominate. Consequently, both an external observer and the child themselves more easily identify the triggering situation in cases of fear than in anxiety.

Differences between anxiety and fear

Méndez, 1999

Levels or systems involved in the anxiety response

Anxiety is a normal and healthy emotion that manifests as a response system (cognitive, physiological, and behavioral) that protects us from danger.

1. Somatic and physiological system : These reactions are experienced as a consequence of the activation of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Although there is great variability between people, the most frequent include, to a greater or lesser degree, dizziness, diarrhea, chest tightness, shortness of breath, and restlessness. It seems that somatic and physiological responses are more common in fear; this is why fear is considered a "very physical" emotion.
2. Cognitive system: This encompasses everything we perceive mentally and feel, such as excessive worry, the feeling of being unable to cope with our concerns, difficulty concentrating, difficulty stopping our thoughts about our worries, and difficulties with concentration and memory, etc. The presence of negative thoughts, which are often experienced as uncontrollable, simultaneously increases negative emotions (anxiety).
3. Behavioral system: Although avoidance responses are the most frequent in the face of fear or anxiety-inducing situations, when the anxiety-inducing situation cannot be avoided, other anxiety responses such as stuttering, trembling, etc., commonly appear.

We will attempt to illustrate graphically how the anxiety response works, with a specific example:

How the anxiety response works.

Adapted from Maganto and Maganto, 2010.

This is an original article from the 12th FAROS Report "A look at the mental health of adolescents - Keys to understanding and supporting them".