"Anxiety" is a word so commonly used that many people don't understand what it means. To complicate matters even further anxiety is interchangeably used with other words. Sometimes that usage is right and in other times it is wrong.

“Anxiety” and “Panic” could mean the same thing while "anxiety" and “fear” which are often used to describe the same thing actually mean different things.

When the word "anxiety" is used, it refers to an unpleasant and overriding mental tension that has no apparent identifiable cause. Fear, on the other hand, causes mental tension due to a specific, external reason, such as when your car skids out of control on ice.

In trying to find an explanation or a definition for anxiety, some went into describing Anxiety as beneficial, and their reasoning would go as to Anxiety is as much a part of life as eating and sleeping. Under the right circumstances, anxiety is beneficial. It has the ability to heighten alertness and ready the body for action. Faced with an unfamiliar challenge, a person is often spurred by anxiety to prepare for the upcoming event. For example, many people practice presentations or speeches and study for tests and exams as a result of mild anxiety. Likewise, anxiety or fear and the urge to flee are a protection from danger.

The mission to identify Anxiety definition is not easy and while in some areas we might seem as if we are beating around the bush, what we are trying to accomplish is at least a satisfactory explanation for anxiety in case a well defined definition was not appropriately found.

Anxiety is a complex feeling of apprehension, fear, and worry often accompanied by lung, heart and other physical sensations.  It is a common condition that can be a self-limited physiologic response to a stressor, or it can persist and result in highly reduced energy.

We will continually introduce material for you to better understand Anxiety. We will continue our research and bring you more information to cover as many aspects as possible of anxiety. Meanwhile you can check the list of materials and tools that we gathered for you to tackle and solve anxiety for yourself and others at our What is Anxiety Library.