We've all been there; butterflies in the stomach before a job interview, worry about finances, nerves prior to a big date.
What distinguishes these 'common or garden' anxieties from the feelings of dread associated with an anxiety disorder? Perhaps you feel constantly agitated and just can't put your finger on what is causing the feeling.
Maybe you wake up in distress each morning as if facing the world each day is a walk down death row.
Anxiety is a normal, instinctive human function.
It prevents us from taking foolish risks.
Ever almost stepped on to the road in front of a car? The rush of adrenaline that we feel in such a situation is our body's way of telling us that it is time to get out of the way.
This in-built function has allowed the human race to survive and thrive for many thousands of years.
It may have prevented our ancestors from being eaten by saber-toothed tigers or from being crushed under the giant feet of a mammoth.
We call this instinct our 'flight or fight' mechanism.
Do we face up to the danger? Or, do we avoid the danger? When you suffer from an anxiety disorder, this mechanism can take hold of you at inappropriate times.
Maybe your brain interprets that a busy street presents the same level of danger as a saber-toothed tiger, causing you to seek an escape route.
Perhaps a social occasion is perceived as a threat and you find yourself unable to function and interact as you would like to.
The good news is that we can train our brain to change the way it reacts to certain situations and over time we can confine the flight or fight instinct to woolly mammoth scenarios.
In the same way that a fire-fighter or soldier can be trained to put their self in danger in order to save others, we can be trained to put ourselves in to the situations that cause us anxiety and learn to control the natural instincts that cause us to panic and go in search of a hiding place.