“Anxiety (also called angst or worry) is a psychological and physiological state characterized by somatic, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components.(2) The root meaning of the word anxiety is ‘to vex or trouble’; in either presence or absence of psychological stress, anxiety can create feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness, and dread.(3) Anxiety is considered to be a normal reaction to a stressor. It may help someone to deal with a difficult situation by prompting them to cope with it. When anxiety becomes excessive, it may fall under the classification of an anxiety disorder.(4)”

2 Seligman, M.E.P., Walker, E.F. & Rosenhan, D.L..Abnormal psychology, (4th ed.) New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

3 Bouras, n. and Holt, G. (2007). Psychiatric and Behavioural Disorders in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press: UK.

4 National Institute of Mental Health Retrieved September 3, 2008.

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anxiety, Accessed 15 September 2011)