Anxiety is a broad term that encompasses a vast range of emotions and mental health conditions. Unbeknownst to some, anxiety can be divided into two camps: trait and state anxiety. These types of anxiety are markedly different and can come with different symptoms than what many may expect.
Presently, in more everyday use, “anxiety” might refer to symptoms of these conditions, but you’ll also hear the term used casually to refer to passing emotions of unease, nervousness, worry, or dread. Still, the anxiety that comes up for you will probably depend on different factors, including the specific circumstances of the situation as well as your own unique personality.
“Not in doing what you like, but in liking what you do is the secret of happiness.” —J.M. Barrie (August 1933)
State Anxiety
State anxiety occurs when you face a threat or a stressful, frightening situation. Hence, it is a normal response to various triggers, and many people who experience state anxiety do not have an underlying anxiety disorder. Basically, state anxiety passes when the threat you are facing fades. For example, if you are taking an important exam, you may feel tense and worried beforehand; however, after you have finished, your anxiety will fade.
Another key point, this form of anxiety tends to show up when you face a potential threat or other frightening situation. As a result, it usually involves a mix of mental and physical symptoms.
Mental symptoms might include:
- feelings of worry
- difficulty concentrating
- irritability
In-the-moment physical symptoms might include:
- trouble breathing
- rapid heartbeat
- upset stomach
- muscle tension and pain
“Make it a rule of life never to regret and never to look back. Regret is an appalling waste of energy; you can’t build on it; it’s only good for wallowing.” —Katherine Mansfield (April 1941)
Trait Anxiety
“Trait anxiety” describes anxiety that is part of someone’s personality or way of seeing the world. Consequently, trait anxiety is a tendency to feel anxious across many situations. At length, it forms part of a person’s personality, which describes the unique ways in which individuals think, feel, and behave.
People with high trait anxiety, especially, tend to perceive things as threatening where others might not. They may frequently express anxiety about situations that do not provoke anxiety in others.
At the present time, theories about personality and the role that anxiety plays in it vary among different schools of thought. However, many models of personality include trait anxiety, or neuroticism, as a component. Henceforth, neuroticism is a long-term tendency to be in a negative or anxious emotional stateTrusted Source. It is not a medical condition but a personality trait.
“I’d rather regret the risks that didn’t work out than the chances I didn’t take at all.” —Simone Biles (July/August 2020)
STAI State Trait Anxiety Inventory
Here is the website for the state trait test: https://www.advancedassessments.co.uk/resources/Mental-Health-Test.pdf
The State-Trait Personality Inventory (STPI) is a self-administered questionnaire designed to measure transitory and dispositional anger, anxiety, curiosity, and depression in adults. Furthermore, the STPI consists of eight 10-item subscales: state and trait anxiety, state and trait anger, state and trait curiosity, and state and trait depression. The “state” items aim to assess a subject’s current emotional state, and are rated on a four-point intensity scale. The “trait” items aim to assess the subject’s emotional disposition, and are rated on a four-point frequency scale.
Explicitly, State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) measures how the subject feels right now on 40 items with answer choices of 1 = not at all / almost never, 2 = somewhat/sometimes, 3 = moderately so / often, and 4 = very much so / almost always.
“If your ship doesn’t come in, swim out to it! “—Jonathan Winters (June 1990)
Anxiety Personality Types
When it comes to personality, research indicates some personality traits may predispose you to develop an anxiety disorder. In addition, a 2006 study identified the following personality traits as linked to anxiety:
- Social inhibition, a broad personality trait where people inhibited, tense, and insecure when with others
- Low Extraversion (or high Introversion)
- High neuroticism, which describes a person’s tendency to feel negative emotions like fear, guilt or shame.
In brief, here are some personality types that could be prone to anxiety:
- INFP and INFJ: The Overthinkers, two Introverted personalities that often experience bouts of anxiety.
- INTJ: The Perfectionist, you may also have a negative perfectionist tendency.
- ENFJ and ESFJ: The People Pleasers (that would most definitely be me), anxiety may hit ENFJ and ESFJ personalities when they develop a people-pleasing habit.
- SFJ and ISTJ: The Traditionalists, People who suffer from anxiety often have a resistance to change.
Nonetheless, research suggests your personality can influence how you respond to stress, which may trigger anxiety in some people, but there are other variables at play. Everyone’s different. Overall, the most important thing is to recognize the signs of anxiety in yourself and nip them in the but through self-care and support.
“A pessimist is one who makes difficulties out of his opportunities; an optimist is one who makes opportunities out of his difficulties.” —Robert Mansell (August 1933)
Conclusion
Regardless, the main difference between trait and state anxiety is that state anxiety is fleeting, whereas trait anxiety lingers and is an inherent part of who a person is. However, both forms of anxiety can be debilitating, and many people may benefit from therapeutic treatment. Whether you are struggling with trait or state anxiety, therapy is a useful tool to teach you healthy coping mechanisms and help to manage your levels of anxiety. You do not have to meet the criteria for an anxiety disorder to benefit from therapy.
Well, I’m going to wrap things up today and if you want to leave comments, that would be much appreciative. Until we meet again…
Articles
-Anxiety Disorders
-Trait anxiety and state anxiety: What to know
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/trait-anxiety
-State- Trait inventory for Children
https://www.mindgarden.com/146-state-trait-anxiety-inventory-for-children
“‘Don’t worry’ makes a better motto when you add ‘others.’” —Columbia Record (May 1925)
References
-Leal, Pollyana Caldeira et al. “Trait Vs. State Anxiety In Different Threatening Situations”. Trends In Psychiatry And Psychotherapy, vol 39, no. 3, 2017, pp. 147-157. Fapunifesp (Scielo), https://doi.org/10.1590/2237-6089-2016-0044.
-Gottschalk MG, Domschke K. Novel developments in genetic and epigenetic mechanisms of anxiety. Curr Opin Psychiatry. 2016 Jan;29(1):32-8. doi: 10.1097/YCO.0000000000000219. PMID: 26575296.
-Saviola, F., Pappaianni, E., Monti, A. et al. Trait and state anxiety are mapped differently in the human brain. Sci Rep 10, 11112 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-68008-z
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