Stress vs Anxiety vs Worry: Symptoms, Differences and How to Get Help
Looking out over New York City, where stress, worry, and anxiety often overlap in daily life.
Anyone who has lived in New York for a while knows that it comes with having to juggle more than seems humanly possible. From rushing to catch the next train, meeting work deadlines, hustling to pay rent, and enjoying everything this great city has to offer, many New Yorkers believe feeling stressed is just part of the daily grind.
Chat with anyone and they’ll likely use the terms worried, anxious, and stressed interchangeably. While they do share similarities, they are not the same thing, and understanding how they differ can help you take steps to ease that pressure.
Here at Aspire Psychotherapy, we work with many people who want to not only better understand stress and anxiety in NYC but how to manage them more effectively.
Defining stress, worry, and anxiety
Before you can understand how to address these issues, it’s important to understand the difference between stress, worry, and anxiety.
Stress
Stress is your body’s reaction to external pressures, and common symptoms include tension headaches, irritability, fatigue, and difficulty concentrating. Anything from a late subway train or a tight work deadline can be the trigger, and while occasional stress can motivate action and be a normal part of life, ongoing stress in NYC can feel exhausting and overwhelming.
Worry
Worry is more about your thoughts. It’s that constant loop of “what if” thinking and imagining potential problems before they even occur. For example, worrying about that presentation at work or how you are going to cover next week’s rent are perfectly normal at times. However, if you are constantly worrying about things it can keep your mind stuck and stop you from moving forward.
Anxiety
Anxiety is a mix of both mind and body, and not only includes worry, but also physical stress symptoms like a racing heart, sweaty palms, stomach aches, and a sense of dread. Anxiety often lingers even when there’s no obvious cause, and while you might be well-prepared for a work meeting, you can still feel shaky, nauseous, or restless.
For those New Yorkers with ADHD, these experiences can often overlap and intensify. Having difficulty regulating attention can heighten your stress while racing thoughts can fuel worry and an overactive nervous system can make anxiety feel harder to turn off. This means that what looks like “just stress” or “just worry” can sometimes be deeply connected to the way ADHD impacts focus, planning, and emotional regulation.
How do they overlap and differ?
Now that you know what we mean when we talk about stress, worry, and anxiety, how do they overlap and differ from each other? Experiencing one of these can often feed into another; for example, stress about an exam or deadline can spark worry, which then snowballs into anxiety that affects your sleep or appetite.
The key differences between them are:
Stress usually comes from external demands
Worry is a mental habit of repetitive thoughts
Anxiety is a prolonged mental and physical state that can persist even without a clear trigger
In a city like New York, occasional stress and worry are normal. But when anxiety makes it hard to sleep, focus, or enjoy your life, it may be time to consider therapy for stress and anxiety in NYC.
Why are stress, anxiety, and worry so common in NYC?
Stress and anxiety in NYC are more common than most people realize, and the city’s pace and intensity keep the nervous system in constant overdrive. Stress thrives in a culture of deadlines, financial pressure, and long commutes; worry is fueled by uncertainty around job security, housing, and school admissions; and anxiety takes hold when there is little chance to pause and reset.
When these three combine, it leaves many New Yorkers feeling constantly on edge and unable to switch off or relax. If you are recognizing any of these patterns in yourself, then it is important to know that you are not alone and taking that first step today can help you to move forward confidently.
How therapy can help break the cycle
When stress, worry, and anxiety start to blur together, it can sometimes feel impossible to untangle them on your own. This is where therapy is able to make a real difference, and here at Aspire Psychotherapy, we don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to helping our clients. We work collaboratively with everyone to understand their unique experiences of stress and anxiety in NYC and what can trigger them, allowing us to create a tailored treatment plan as to what will be most effective.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a cornerstone of our approach, and it helps you identify unhelpful thought patterns, like overestimating risks or obsessing over worst-case scenarios, and replace them with more balanced, realistic ways of thinking. For example, instead of spiraling into “If I don’t finish this perfectly, I’ll fail,” thoughts, CBT encourages reframing that into something more manageable.
For clients with ADHD, the CBT model highlights how thoughts, emotions, and behaviors feed into each other; hyperactive patterns can create physical exhaustion that fuels mental stress while inattentive or overthinking tendencies may trap someone in cycles of worry and anticipation, leading to tension, fear, or guilt. This shift in perspective can dramatically reduce both worry and the physical stress symptoms that often accompany anxiety.
Beyond CBT, we also integrate techniques to calm the body and regulate the nervous system, slowing down that feeling like you are always “on”. Simple and powerful practices, like grounding exercises, mindfulness practices, and relaxation strategies, help clients manage physical sensations such as a racing heart, tension, or restlessness. This can make daily life in a crowded, fast-paced city like New York feel more manageable.
Because stress and anxiety show up differently for everyone, our Aspire therapists also draw on insight-oriented approaches when helpful. By exploring underlying fears, values, or long-standing patterns, clients gain awareness of the triggers behind their stress and anxiety, empowering them to respond differently rather than getting stuck in old habits.
What makes therapy for stress and anxiety in NYC especially valuable is having a supportive space to step away from the constant noise of the city and focus on your own needs. With guidance, you can build resilience, restore balance, and create practical changes that let you move through life with more ease.
Therapy isn’t about eliminating all stress or worry; they are a natural part of life. Instead, it’s about giving you the skills and perspective to handle challenges without becoming overwhelmed by them.
Practical tips for managing stress and anxiety in NYC
While anxiety therapy in NYC can help facilitate long-term change, there are small daily strategies you can include to help you reduce stress symptoms and break the cycle of worry. This includes:
Grounding yourself
If you are feeling overwhelmed on a busy subway or in a large crowd, use breathing techniques or focus on your senses to stay present and calm yourself.
Write concerns down
Structure can help to limit your worries, so spend ten minutes a day writing down your concerns. This allows you to keep those feelings contained to that period, rather than being a constant throughout the day.
Take short breaks
Taking short breaks throughout the day to escape your screen and get some fresh air can help you give your nervous system a moment of peace.
Prioritize rest
Finally, create a consistent bedtime routine that allows you to get your eight hours of sleep a night. Before heading to bed, make sure you dim the lights, switch off the screens, and listen to calming sounds to help reduce nighttime anxiety and sleeplessness.
Looking to ease stress, worry, and anxiety?
It’s impossible to live in New York City without encountering stress. But when stress symptoms start to feel unmanageable or when worry spirals into ongoing anxiety, it’s a sign that you may benefit from additional support. With the right tools and guidance, you can manage stress and anxiety in NYC in a healthier way and even build resilience in the face of city life’s demands.
If you’ve been struggling, you don’t have to push through it alone. At Aspire Psychotherapy, we specialize in anxiety therapy in NYC and provide personalized plans built around you.
Want to find out more? Contact our team today and take that first step toward calmer, more balanced days.
About the Author: Brie Scolaro, LCSW
As an LGBTQ+ licensed clinical social worker and Co-Director of Aspire Psychotherapy, Brie Scolaro, LCSW, is a highly experienced therapist in NYC. Known for their warm but direct style, Brie provides individual therapy and performance-focused coaching for adults and teens navigating anxiety, OCD, burnout, ADHD, identity exploration, and relationship stress. Integrating an array of proven NYC therapy techniques, they integrate CBT, ACT, biofeedback and sports psychology to help clients build emotional resilience, clarify goals, and make meaningful changes in their lives