Stress or Anxiety? How to Tell the Difference — and How Therapy Can Help

You might call it stress, but your body could be telling a deeper story.
In a world that rewards constant productivity, it’s easy to overlook signs that your nervous system is running on overdrive. The difference between stress and anxiety often comes down to time: stress ends when the pressure does, but anxiety stays — shaping how you think, feel, and relate to yourself and others.

At Stillpoint Therapy Collective, our San Francisco therapists help you listen to your body’s signals with compassion. Through therapy, you can begin to notice what your system needs — safety, rest, or release — and build tools for regulation and calm.

✨ Meet the Therapists:

• Amy Toig, AMFT blends mindfulness and emotion-focused therapy to help clients move from burnout toward balance.

• Annie Patyk, AMFT works with high-achieving adults navigating perfectionism, helping them create new rhythms rooted in self-trust.

• Jen Ottman, AMFT integrates somatic awareness and attachment-based therapy to help clients slow down, identify patterns, and rebuild trust in themselves.

• Callista Cox, AMFT takes a warm, reflective approach to help clients explore the deeper roots of anxiety and stress. Their work invites curiosity about how emotions live in the body and shape relationships.

If you’re ready to better understand your anxiety — or simply want to feel more at ease in your body, therapy can help. Learn more about therapy for anxiety and connect with a Stillpoint therapist today.

• What’s the difference between stress and anxiety?

  Stress is a temporary reaction to external pressure or change. Anxiety is more internal and persistent — often showing up as restlessness, worry, or physical symptoms even when things seem “fine.”

• How does therapy help with stress and anxiety?

  Therapy provides space to understand your body’s responses, recognize patterns of overwork or worry, and learn regulation tools that promote calm, resilience, and choice.

• What is somatic therapy, and how does it help?

  Somatic therapy focuses on the body’s wisdom. By noticing sensations, breath, and movement, you can process stored tension and help your nervous system shift out of chronic activation.

• How do I know if I should see a therapist for anxiety?

  If anxiety is disrupting sleep, work, or relationships — or if you feel stuck in cycles of overthinking or fatigue — therapy can help you find relief and perspective.

• Do you offer online therapy in addition to in-person sessions in San Francisco?

  Yes. Stillpoint Therapy Collective offers both in-person sessions in San Francisco and virtual therapy throughout California to support flexible, accessible care.