Are Stress and Anxiety the Same Thing?
No. They’re not the same but yes they’re very connected.
In my experience, when you understand the why behind your stress or anxiety, it can dramatically ease the situation. So in this article, we’re going to break it all down:
how your nervous system works
what stress actually is
the three major triggers I see in women over 35
the good side of stress
how chronic stress can snowball into anxiety
and the role of your calming hormone, progesterone
It All Starts at the Top—Literally, in Your Brain
Your nervous system has two main states:
Sympathetic = fight, flight, freeze, or fawn
Parasympathetic = rest, digest, heal, and repair
The sympathetic side is what keeps you safe. It kicks in to help you act, react, and protect yourself. The issue is: if you live here too long, you start to feel overwhelmed, shut down, or like you’re constantly saying “I can’t.”
The parasympathetic side helps you rest, digest, heal, and recover—but unfortunately, you can’t be in both systems at once. When stress is constant, your body prioritizes survival, and you get stuck in sympathetic mode.
This can show up as:
hormone imbalances
fatigue
hair loss
weight gain
digestion issues
sleep issues
or just feeling like a more exhausted, less joyful version of yourself
What Is Stress?
Stress is your body’s response to a threat, demand, or challenge—anything that pulls you out of your normal balance.
But here’s what’s crucial to understand:
Stress can be actual, anticipated, or imagined. And your body doesn’t really know the difference.
➤ Actual Stress
That awful text from your boss. The flu bug that hits your home. The car accident you narrowly avoided with your ninja reflexes. That’s real, and your body should respond to it.
➤ Anticipated Stress
This is when you’re expecting something bad to happen. You’re waiting for the upsetting email. You might catch the flu because your whole family is sick. Your car might break down…again.
Even if the event hasn’t happened, your body goes into stress mode as if it has.
➤ Imagined Stress
This is worst-case-scenario thinking. Making mountains out of molehills. Stressing about things that likely won’t happen, but your mind is already spinning.
Again: your body doesn’t know the threat isn’t real. It still reacts.
The 3 Big Stress Triggers in Women Over 35
Especially in perimenopause, I often see these three big triggers ramp up:
Uncertainty
Not Knowing
Lack of Control
Dr. Perry Nickelston talks about these, and I couldn’t agree more. Let me show you how they show up:
“My biggest stress is my husband.”
Maybe it’s him directly—but it’s likely the uncertainty around him. Not knowing what he’s thinking, how the relationship is evolving, or feeling like you can’t control how it unfolds.
“My biggest stress is my health.”
Exactly. Because you don’t know what’s happening in your body, or how to fix it. You feel out of control.
These stress triggers often get louder during hormonal shifts like perimenopause—when your body might start to feel foreign, confusing, and hard to trust.
So… Is Any Stress Good?
Yes! Some stress is actually helpful. It motivates action, growth, and strength.
Think of:
exercise
launching a new project
planning a joyful (but intense) event like a wedding or trip
standing up for yourself or your family
That’s positive stress—also called eustress.
But the issue lies in chronic, overwhelming stress. The kind that keeps you up at night, dysregulates your hormones, and puts you on edge constantly.
Stress, Hormones & The Anxiety Spiral
In your brain, the amygdala acts like a smoke alarm for fear. When it’s triggered repeatedly, it sends signals down to your nervous system and ramps up cortisol and adrenaline. Cue the panic.
Over time, chronic stress can also suppress progesterone production. And here’s the kicker: progesterone helps activate GABA, your brain’s calming neurotransmitter, except now you have low progesterone.
When progesterone is low, you may feel:
anxious
impatient
irritated
angry
Even if your external circumstances haven’t changed.
But What If You Feel Anxious for No Reason?
This is incredibly common in perimenopause. I hear from women all the time who say,
“I’m not stressed, but I feel anxious all the time… out of nowhere.”
That “nowhere” may actually be your hormonal shifts causing neurotransmitter imbalances in your brain. Your brain chemistry is changing kind of behind your back so you might feel uncertain or like there’s a lack of control in what’s going on.
Final Thoughts
Stress and anxiety aren’t the same—but they are deeply interconnected.
If you're feeling the weight of it all—racing thoughts, hormone chaos, and unexplained anxiety—please know: you're not alone.
I see a lot of women in my comments and dms talking about anxiety (and stress!)
Your body is wise. Your system is talking to you. And there are ways to support it.
You don’t have to live in a permanent stress state. You just need the right understanding, tools, and support to shift back into safety, and stay there.
🧠✨ Want to learn more? Watch the full YouTube video here