Feeling worried or nervous is a normal part of everyday life. Everyone frets or feels anxious from time to time. Mild to moderate anxiety can be an effective means of helping you focus your attention, energy, and motivation. However, if anxiety is severe, you may have feelings of helplessness, confusion, and extreme worry that are out of proportion with the actual seriousness or likelihood of the feared event. Anxiety that becomes overwhelming and interferes with daily life is not normal. This type of anxiety may be a symptom of another problem, such as depression.

Anxiety can cause physical and emotional symptoms. A specific situation or fear can cause some or all of these symptoms for a short time. When the situation passes, the symptoms usually go away.

• Trembling, twitching, or
  shaking.
• Feeling of fullness in the throat or
  chest.
• Breathlessness or rapid heartbeat.

• Lightheadedness or
  dizziness.

• Sweating or cold, clammy
  hands.
• Excessive startle reflex.
• Muscle tension, aches,
  or soreness (myalgias).
• Fatigue.
• Sleep problems, such
  as the inability to fall asleep or stay asleep, early waking, or restless,
  unsatisfying sleep.

Anxiety affects the part of the brain that helps control creative
expression and complex communication. This makes it more difficult to express
yourself creatively or function effectively in relationships. Emotional
symptoms of anxiety include:

• Restlessness, irritability, or feeling on
  edge or keyed up.
• Excessive worrying.
• Fearing that
  something bad is going to happen; sense of impending doom.
• Inability to concentrate; “blanking out.”
• Constant feelings of
  sadness.