Anxiety and stress are phenomena that considerably affect modern man, such is their relevance today, that they are considered the main diseases of the 21st century.

Phrases on stress and anxiety

That is why many authors have dealt with this subject and reflected on the implications it has for human beings.

In this article we have prepared a list of phrases about anxiety and stress that will help you understand both psychological phenomena.

1. Fear sharpens the senses. Anxiety paralyzes them

When we feel fear, anxiety takes over. It’s part of the fight-or-flight response.

2. Free yourself from anxiety, think that what should be, will be, and will happen naturally

When we live the here and now without recreating ourselves in the future, the anxiety disappears.

3. When it comes to detecting danger and reacting to it, the brain (of the vertebrates) has not changed much. In some ways, we are emotional lizards

The anxiety response has its origin in the primitive brain.

4. Each morning has two handles, we can take the day by the handle of anxiety or by the handle of faith

Feeling anxiety, many times, is our decision.

5. Anxiety is not here, it’s in the future

Irrational expectations and anticipating the future lead to anxiety.

6. Peace begins with a smile

To find inner peace, one must take life more joyfully.

7. No passion like fear takes away so effectively from the mind the ability to act and reason

Edmund Burke, regarding how our attention and concentration are hijacked by anxiety.

8. When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of problems in his life, most of which had never happened

Anxiety appears when we look at the past and we look at the future. We must live in the present.

9. Freedom is living in the moment

Living in the present makes us free and find well-being. Harming others is a source of anguish and mental suffering, so treat others well!

10. Threats to our self-esteem, or the way we think about ourselves, often cause far more anxiety than threats to our physical integrity

A great quote from the famous psychoanalyst and father of this current, S. Freud.

11. Where the water reaches its deepest depth, it is calmer

A philosophical quote from William Shakespeare, which invites the reader to deep reflection. If you improve your introspective capacity, you will achieve peace.

12. It is a good idea to always do something relaxing before making an important decision in your life

Paulo Coelho, relaxing is good for making good decisions.

13. Anxiety and panic serve as a protective screen against the acute pain of coping with loss, mortality, or threats to self-esteem

Anxiety appears as a symptom in different psychological problems.

14. It is impossible for me to avoid restlessness, and it is so embarrassing for me to expose myself as well as risky, that in the end, when I look down, I only see the emptiness in my feet; not a reserve of inner strength or outer support capable of sustaining me, but a long chasm without any net to stop my fall

A quote by Scott Stossel that addresses the issue of anxiety and distress.

15. No Grand Inquisitor has prepared tortures as terrible as anguish; No spy knows how to attack with such cunning the man he suspects, choosing the moment when he is weakest, nor knows how to set the trap for him as well as anxiety does, and no judge, however perceptive, knows how to interrogate and probe the accused as anxiety does, which never lets him escape, neither with distractions and noise, neither at work nor at leisure, neither day nor night

Anguish and anxiety can make us go through some really unpleasant times.

16. There is nothing so characteristic of the progress from beast to man as a decrease in the frequency of justified occasions for fear

William James, comparing the primitive brain with the rational one.

17. Hiding or suppressing anxiety actually produces more anxiety

When we try not to feel anxiety, there is a rebound effect that increases your symptoms.

18. Much of the tension people feel does not come from having too much to do. It comes from not finishing what they have started”

David Allen. A phrase that talks about stress and one of its causes.

19. You will find the way in whispers of truth that you experience in your own daily life. And by following that path, you will find greater peace and joy throughout each day

A quote that talks about living in the present, that is, the here and now.

20. Happiness is in the small details of everyday life

Sometimes we worry about big details, when the important thing is the little ones.

21. Anxiety cannot be avoided, but it can be reduced. The issue in managing anxiety is to reduce it to normal levels and then use that normal anxiety as a stimulus to increase one’s perception, vigilance and will to live

When we accept anxiety, its intensity is reduced.

22. When one feels a great fear of what is imminent, one feels some relief when the problem has arrived

Joseph Joubert, anxiety appears because of the expectations we generate, not because of the fact itself.

23. When you are present, you can allow the mind to be as it is without becoming entangled in it

Eckhart Tolle, a reflection on how living the present moment leads to greater well-being.

24. Unrealistic expectations generate anxiety, that is why it is important to live the present and touch the ground

Many of the solutions we are looking for are right now, not the future.

25. Anxiety with fear and fear with anxiety contribute to robbing human beings of their most essential qualities. One of them is reflection

It’s hard to think clearly when anxiety gets the better of us.

26. There are moments when all the accumulated anxiety and effort are calmed down in the infinite indolence and repose of nature

When we meditate or connect with our purest essence, anxiety is reduced.

27. We must be aware that what causes us discomfort or anxiety is not the events, but how we link emotions to them

Psychologist Jonathan Garcia-Allen reminds us that anxiety has a lot to do with anticipatory beliefs.

28. Symptoms of stage fright can sometimes take the form of something like a horrible joke tailored to humiliate

John Marshall. A quote on how stage fright can paralyze us.

29. Couldn’t my anxiety be a normal human reaction to life, even though that reaction may be more acute in me than in other people? How do you distinguish between what is “normal” and what is “clinical”?

There is a difference between normal anxiety and pathological anxiety.

30. Not anticipating problems or worrying about what may never happen

Benjamin Franklin. A tip on how to reduce anxiety.

31. Anxiety and fear paralyze us and do not give way to reason

Fear is a primitive emotion that does not respond to logical arguments.

32. The planning function of the nervous system has culminated, in the course of evolution, in the emergence of ideas, values and pleasures: the only manifestations of human life in society. Only man can plan for the distant future and experience the retrospective pleasures of the accomplished goal. Only man can be happy. But only man can be restless and suffer anxiety

In our head is the best and the worst of what we experienced.

33. The weariness I have is infinite; all the pain in the world I have tasted; a labyrinth of anxiety I habitually and gropingly wallow in the intricacies

Prolonged anxiety leads to a state of mental exhaustion.

34. The intensity of the distress is proportional to the meaning that the situation has for the affected person; even if she essentially ignores the reasons for her anxiety

It is not the facts that concern us, but the value we place on the facts.

35. In times of great stress or adversity, it is always better to keep busy, to channel your anger and energy into something positive

You have to find the balance between being in motion but not overdoing it with speed.

36. Persecution, even of the best things, should be calm and collected

Life has to be taken easy, so that you can enjoy the moment.

37. Only if you manage to calm our mind will you reach your goals

A tip on rational goals and how they help to achieve our objectives.

38. The natural state of twentieth-century man is anxiety

Stress and anxiety are considered 21st century pathologies.

39. May you be free to take a path whose end I feel no need to know, nor the feverish anxiety of being sure you are going where I would have wanted you to go

A quote about anxiety and how it affects us if we don’t manage it properly.

40. Anxiety kills relatively few people, but many would gladly accept death as an alternative to the paralysis and suffering caused by the more severe forms of anxiety

The consequences of anxiety lead us to worry excessively, often irrationally.

41. Loneliness is the house of peace (Hodge)

Giving yourself a break now and then and connecting with yourself is key to mental well-being.

42. Anxiety is the most prominent mental characteristic of Western civilization

Ironically, R. R. Willoughby says that anxiety is a great achievement.

43. It is practical to stay calm all the time, starting from situations that are tense

Relaxation techniques work very well in times of great anxiety.

44. Concern does not eliminate the pain of tomorrow, but it eliminates the strength of today.

Corrie ten Boom, a few words that make clear a great truth.

45. Fear arises from a weakness of the mind and therefore does not belong to the use of reason

In reference to how anxiety has its origin in the primitive brain.

46. Anxiety: a difficult condition. The patient believes he has something like a thorn inside, something that pricks his guts, and nausea torments him

It’s not easy to overcome anxiety, but it’s possible.

47. Great events make me calm and collected; it is only trifles that irritate my nerves

It is not objective reality that creates anxiety for us, but our beliefs about this reality.

48. How often do we talk just to fill the quiet space? How often do we waste our breath talking nonsense?

Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. A thought-provoking quote.

49. The weight of anxiety is greater than the evil that causes it

Our thoughts, the ones that cause anxiety, are often unfounded.

50. If you want to master the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath

In relation to Eastern philosophy. Living the present and meditating.

51. Focusing on the present moment helps us to master anxiety. Because anxiety often manifests itself because of our thoughts or expectations. Mindfulness is useful in the treatment of anxiety and stress, as many studies show

There is a lot of research on how Eastern philosophy, and specifically Mindfulness, positively influences our well-being.

52. No one who has been tormented by prolonged fits of anxiety doubts its power to paralyse action, to stimulate flight, to annihilate pleasure, and to endow thought with a catastrophic bias. No one can deny how terribly painful anxiety can be. The experience of chronic and intense anxiety is, above all, a profound and disconcerting confrontation with pain

Barry E. Wolfe. A great definition of what it feels like to be anxious.

53. I have come to the conviction that anxiety accompanies intellectual activity like its shadow, and that the more we know about the nature of anxiety, the more we will know about the intellect

Howard Liddel firmly believes that anxiety and intellect are linked. Although anxiety is a primitive response, the intellect helps it manifest itself at times when it is not needed.

54. At one point I was plagued by anxiety. But I got rid of the fear by studying the sky, determining when the moon would rise and where the sun would appear in the morning

A great quote from the famous psychologist, Margaret Mead.

55. The only thing we have to fear is fear

We must accept the fear, otherwise the fear will absorb us.