Anxiety refers to the phenomenon in the body when a person is faced with stress
inducing events. When an impulse, either external or internal triggers the body into stress, the
body then responds with feelings of apprehension along with a set of bodily symptoms that are
either physical, emotional, cognitive or behavioral in nature.
Most people get confused with the terms anxiety and fear. While these terms are fairly
similar and used interchangeably in normal conversations, they have distinct differences that
are important to note. Fear is a feeling of extreme apprehension to a clear triggering source, for
example the fear of dogs. On the other hand, anxiety is a wider and vaguer term than fear.
Anxiety can be precipitated by an unclear set of events and is not always specific to a person,
object or situation.
Anxiety is a normal stress response that serves a protective mechanism in the body. The
associated symptoms of anxiety come out as a response of the body’s secretion of the hormone
called adrenaline, the hormone that prepares the body for high energy and high stress
situations. It prepares the body to do its best and survive the anxiety inducing event.
Shortened Version: Anxiety is a set of physical, emotional, behavioral and cognitive bodily
responses in response to stress.
Tags: Anxiety definition, anxiety meaning, anxiety description