Life is stressful. Stress is often cited as one of the most common causes of ill health in Industrialized societies. The demand can be a threat, challenge, or deviation that obliges the mind or body to adjust. These stress reactions are essential for individual survival as they enable one to carry out important goals and to respond appropriately to danger.
Anxiety arises from many causes and appears in many different forms.
Anxiety is exhibited by physical signs, by uncertainty concerning the reality and nature of the threat, and by apprehension about one's capacity to deal with it. The physical symptoms include sweating, raised blood pressure, fast heart rate, rapid breathing, increased muscle tension, and altered intestinal blood flow that sometimes results in nausea or diarrhea. Ordinary anxiety caused by emotional conflict or life stress is fairly common and is not usually a clinical problem. Anxiety can also be a symptom of psychological or medical problems, such as depression, substance abuse, major illness, or thyroid disease. Exaggerated fear may lead to an anxiety attack.