Humans have the great gift and right to experience emotion. Not all living organisms on this planet are capable of such. Unfortunately, humans often do not fully understand their feelings.

Let's explore some examples to get what stress and anxiety are. For instance, you're relaxing by the river and seeing a snake approaching. Or, while shopping in a supermarket, a robber rushes in and points a gun at you, demanding the cashier to hand over all the money. What would you feel in those moments? You would activate a fight-or-flight response as you perceive a threat to your safety.

In these situations, a person's nervous system undergoes various changes. It releases adrenaline and epinephrine hormones, increasing blood pressure, speeding up the heartbeat, and causing muscle tension, digestive issues, and trembling. These changes prepare the body for a physical response to danger, with survival as the ultimate goal.

In the case of anxiety, when it's appropriate, such as with the snake or the gun, it's a normal physiological response. It readies people to react to a potential threat. However, anxiety isn't just about an exaggerated reaction to events occurring around. Things that exist only in our minds can cause it, too. This happens when we worry and anticipate worst-case scenarios that may never come to pass.

Anxiety is adaptive when it arises in response to immediate fear of a risk in your surroundings. Anxiety becomes maladaptive when it becomes a chronic state of tension, worry, and avoidance behavior. It negatively affects your life and functioning.

The second type is a problem when the fight-or-flight response triggers signals that pose no threat – physical or otherwise. For instance, a person who obsessively worries about their health, even when tests rule out illness. Or someone who's afraid of using public restrooms and ultimately avoids all business trips to steer clear of that fear. As a result, this person's career is limited or ended due to irrational fear.