Anger, Stress and Trauma:
What are the Differences?

Anger, stress and trauma are often experienced together. They can be experienced together so much that you may begin to feel like you don’t even know the difference any longer. If you find yourself being overwhelmed by these three, you aren’t alone. Let’s break down each and explore what makes them both unique and similar.

Anger

Anger is a natural, human emotion that everyone will experience from time to time. Anger can be experienced when you have been wronged or offended. It is also one of the only secondary emotions, aka you don’t feel angry simply because you are angry. Anger is often experienced secondary to emotions that may leave you feeling more vulnerable, such as fear, worry, fear, disrespect, or rejection. It may also be a defensive reaction when you feel threatened.

There are a whole range of emotions involving anger. It may range from a slight irritation to harder-to-control, furious rage. When anger becomes more complicated it can be associated with violence. If you find yourself having difficulty managing anger, or you feel it may be masking more complicated emotions, you may benefit from therapy.

Stress

Like anger, stress can be said to be an expected reaction or a response to varying levels of pressure, specifically to stressors. Stress often feels inevitable. Life demands a lot from us which can leave us feeling stressed from time to time. Stress doesn’t discriminate either, no matter who you are it’s likely you are familiar with it. The world uses the word “stress” to refer to anything that may feel to be too much to handle.

Technically, stress is triggered by a stressor, which can be anything- events, situations, people, disease, responsibilities etc. The most common sources of stress tend to be daily events such as danger (survival stress), worries (internal stress), environment, fatigue and/or feeling overworked. Intense, unmanageable feelings or reactions to stressors could be indicators of something more such as adjustment disorder, depression, anxiety etc.

Trauma

Trauma is related to experiencing events that can be life-changing and/or life threatening. Some examples are a car accident, sudden death, serious illness affecting you or a loved one, witnessing a crime, becoming a victim of violence, threat of violence, threat to a person’s safety/physical integrity etc.

A person experiencing intrusive symptoms related to trauma may exhibit shock and denial immediately after. Over the course of time, your reactions may range from flashbacks, panic attacks, strained relationships as well as physical symptoms. It can be difficult to move forward on your own after experiencing a traumatic event, therapy can help.

Working Through Anger, Stress and Trauma

Even though stress and anger can be “normal” responses, they can affect your psyche and physical health. Stress and anger stimulate the secretion of hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol. Adrenaline and cortisol cause the heart to beat faster, increasing your levels of energy; the “fight-and-flight response.” Experiencing these emotions too often can cause damage to your body. Meanwhile, experiencing trauma can have serious emotional effects that may prevent you from moving forward and enjoying your life.

Working through these emotional responses can be important. If anger, stress and trauma are negatively impacting your life, don’t wait. Call Carolina Counseling Services – Fuquay-Varina, NC to begin moving forward. Call today to schedule your first session.

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