Anxiety is a natural response to fear and uncertainty. It mobilizes us to threats and helps direct our energies towards action. However, sometimes anxiety becomes disproportionate to actual threats and people begin to live life in state of worry. There are a number of different types of anxiety disorders but most people first notice discomfort in their bodies, including a feeling of uneasiness or sickness in their stomach, heart-racing, sweating, as well as, a sense of fear that keep them 'on-edge' in preparation that something bad will happen. This leads to scenario-building in our minds where we spend considerable time and energy thinking about the "what ifs" in order to prepare ourselves for a potential threat or danger that is often overestimated using coping skills that are underestimated. It can feel as though we are constantly "on" and not able to shut our minds down and get rest in spite of feeling tired or exhausted. Or, we can become so overwhelmed with the threat that we shut down and avoid thinking about it altogether believing that distancing ourselves from the threat will make us feel better. This can lead to behavioral avoidance, which reinforces that we aren't able to cope with the threat because it is so dangerous; in other words, it's the avoidance that keep us scared. In addition, people often discount their own strengths and competencies to cope with the threat, which can lead to lowered self-esteem and shame down the road.