Fear and anxiety often get lumped together when people talk about anxiety, however, they are two totally different emotions.
Both fear and anxiety are part of your bodies natural alarm system known as fight-or-flight.
Let’s use a roller coaster to break this down…
Anxiety is the feeling you have when you climb into the seat and strap yourself in tight. It’s the feeling that’s growing as you start to climb up that GIGANTIC hill and the pause right before the fall. Anxiety is the anticipation of the event. It’s future focused, alerting you to possible dangerous situations in the future.
Fear is what you experience as you go rushing down that hill with your arms way above your head. Fear is the actual experience. It’s a present moment emotional experience felt when you are actually in a stressful/threatening situation.