Arousal and Anxiety States, Understand the Difference

Arousal and Anxiety are two different states which have quite different effects on our performance. A performer needs to distinguish between them because they lead to different outcome despite they share similar characteristics. Further, because these two states are related to life course and health condition, parents must know how to distinguish between these states and treat them at the beginning of childhood. 

What is arousal?

Arousal Is a general physiological and psychological state of activation and the ability to react to stimuli. This state are varying on a continuum from deep sleep to intense excitement. Arousal activates the autonomic nervous system and endocrine system, This may lead to an increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, a state of sensory attention, excessive sweating, increased movement, and willingness to respond to any effect. However, not all arousals or their consequences are the same therefore, arousals supposed to refer to the intensity dimensions of motivation at a particular moment, otherwise if it extend further in time, it will be dangerous due to its characteristics. It has been shown that respiratory and pharyngeal muscle responses increase with arousal intensity. Thus, patients with higher arousal intensities may be more prone to respiratory control instability. Trusted Source. Consequently, it’s good to have arousal during a workout, but this state shouldn’t continue to a long time after a workout, because that can lead to health issues because for example long term high pressure is not good for health. remember that you should control your Arousal.

What is Anxiety?

Anxiety is an uncontrollable negative emotional state characterized by an unpleasant agitation and restlessness, nervousness, excessive worry, sleep disturbance, irrational, hesitation, poor concentration, fatigue and stupidity. Anxiety is accompanied by such symptoms as muscle tension, increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, shyness, excessive sweating and rapid breathing. Furthermore, there are many serious medical conditions associated with anxiety such as heart disease or diabetes, therefore it called a mental disorder or Anxiety disorder. Anxiety can manifest itself in two recognizable ways, state anxiety or trait anxiety. State anxiety is a short-term condition, can be seen as a temporary feeling or emotion, while trait anxiety is a long-term condition, often seen as a personal characteristic of the individual.

Why we get anxiety?

The presence of state anxiety and trait anxiety is depending on the life course and health condition. For instance, the sum of life course can define the tendency to fall in the state anxiety. For example, when an individual is talking for the first time on a conference he or she may face it as an unpleasant event, thereafter, the state anxiety dives up. As soon as the conference passes, the state anxiety is no longer present. On the other hand, trait anxiety is part of the personality, an acquired behavioural tendency that influences behaviour It is more related to health condition because trait anxiety is often assessed as a reason for some illnesses.  For example, if the individual has poor physical or mental health, the risk of experiencing trait anxiety is higher. Anxiety is uncontrollable and takes time to get rid of it. When this state takes a long time, it may lead to depression.

What is depression?

Depression is a condition, in which a person feels unmotivated, weak, discouraged, unable to do actions alone, sad, feels lonely, hopeless and unsocial, or disinterested in life in general. Depression could be a result of exposing to a long term anxiety. People especially athletes should be aware of their psychological state, because performance can be influenced by psychological state and psychological state can be influenced by motivation.