Anxiety is the body and mind responding to situations that are perceived to be dangerous or frightening. As a result the bodies inbuilt survival instinct gets triggered in preparation to stand and fight or to run away. This is known as the fight or flight response. In order to overcome anxiety you have to bring this response under control so that it does not overwhelm you. This fight or flight response that causes your anxiety is being activated by situations that are not dangerous when you should be in control. Your body is physically reacting in preparation for a life or death struggle that is totally inappropriate to what is actually occurring.

You are not ill if you suffer from anxiety. Anxiety is just an inappropriate response to what is actually happening or your perception of it. Anxiety is a habit than can be unlearned. By learning about your anxiety and the causes of it you will find that you can more easily cope with it. Anxiety is likely to have a connection with something specific such as a situation, person or place.

Try to identify what is causing your anxiety by starting a journal. Every day make a note in your journal about your anxiety levels and what you were doing at the time. You should record the level of your anxiety by rating it on a scale from 1 to 10. Did you avoid any situations because your feared they will have made you anxious? If that was the case then make a note of the things that you avoided. You should try and remember what you were thinking about in the moments that led to your anxiety and record these in your journal. This will help you to identify whether negative thinking is causing your anxiety. After you have been keeping your journal for a while you should have collected enough information to help you pinpoint potential causes for your anxiety. So be sure to read what you have written every so often.

You don't have to continue to live with your anxiety. There are so many things you can do to remove causes of stress from your life. Why not take up a relaxing hobby? If you have something to focus your attention on it helps you to forget about the stresses in your life. You might like to read a book or to take up art or photography. Why not try yoga, Tai Chi, Qi Gong or meditation? These are all great ways to relieve stress. Don't underestimate the influence your diet is having on your anxiety. Try and eat a balanced healthy diet. Make sure that you are getting sufficient sleep. Why not treat yourself to a reflexology or a massage treatment. You should also try not to drink too much caffeine containing drinks such tea and coffee as it has a stimulant effect than can make you more prone to anxiety. If relaxation is difficult for you then why not buy yourself a relaxing hypnosis MP3 download for relief of anxiety.

When you find yourself in a situation where you are preoccupied with anxious thoughts then you should try to distract yourself away from what you are thinking. The best way to do this is to become more aware of what's going on around you instead of what's on your mind. Try looking around you and noticing the details in the things that you see and pay attention to the noises and smells. As you become absorbed in the outer world you start to pay less attention to your inner world and you will forget about your anxiety.

For more advice on dealing with anxiety you could try one of the anxiety and panic attacks self help guides that are available online.