What exactly is anxiety? The Collins Concise Dictionary says that “Anxiety is a state of uneasiness or tension, caused by apprehension of possible misfortune, danger etc.”

We have all felt anxious at some point in our lives. It may have been when we were younger and were about to sit an examination at school, you may have had a churning tummy, perhaps you were wanting to rush to the toilet, or felt hot and shaky, dry mouth, blurred vision.
Finishing work at the end of a stressful day has caused many of us to feel the symptoms of anxiety. You may have felt tension across your neck and shoulders, felt restless and have an inability to sit still, or perhaps you were unable to concentrate on what your partner was saying, had a headache, or were just finding it hard to unwind and relax.

A common cause of anxiety for many has been the situation of going to the dentists. You may have felt sickly, a little dizzy, be shaky, feel light headed, difficulty in swallowing, a feeling of obstruction in the throat, dry mouth.

Taking an exam, having a stressful day at work, or planning a trip to the dentists, in all of theses situations our exposure to anxiety is only brief and when we leave the stressful situation behind us we start to relax and forget about it allowing our body to return to normal and we continue on with our lives.

In the situations listed above the symptoms we feel are the symptoms of anxiety and stress. If we do not worry about it and we understand it, the body will quickly put itself right.

There are some people who thrive on high stress level. I am thinking of those people who work on the stock market who deal with high levels of stress every day.

Indeed there are some of us who even go looking for a stressful situation such as bungie jumping, parachuting out of an aeroplane, or riding the fastest ride at the fun fair. To some people small amounts of anxiety can be exciting.