Anxiety

Defined as "a perceived threat."  Anxiety and stress are not the same thing.  Using them interchangeable and as synonyms will not help solve the problem.  Furthermore, anxiety and nervousness are not the same thing.  Anxiety is an emotion.  We have anxiety over things we perceive to be threatening.  We are anxious because we assume the outcome, which we don't know, will be harmful in some way.  We are anxious about heights, because we don't know if we will fall or if we do fall, what the result will be.  We are anxious about speaking in public, because we are unsure how we will be received by the audience.  We are anxious in sports because we are unsure of the outcome and if it will disappoint us or others.  To avoid being anxious we must identify the threat and understand that the perception is not reality.  We have a choice to be anxious or not.  We can choose to allow emotions to drive our perceptions or we can allow rational thought to help us control our emotions and see the threat as it really is, only a perception.  Our family and friends and God won't leave us for fumbling our speech or losing a game.  If our family or friends do react negatively, maybe it is time to find new friends and we must always realize that God loves us unconditionally, and our family probably does too.