Anxiety
A sustained state of tension and worry without one clear, immediate object — diffuse, future-oriented, and cognitively elaborated, unlike Fear's sharp present focus.
How it shows up
Anxiety often hums in the background before a deadline, during uncertainty about health, money, or relationships, or with no clear trigger at all. Thoughts may loop through what could go wrong, and many people feel it in the chest, stomach, and throat. In everyday doses it can help people prepare. It becomes harder to live with when it spreads across many areas and stays switched on long after any threat has passed.
How it differs from Fear
Anxiety is diffuse and future-oriented with no single clear object; fear is a sharper response to a threat that is present now.
Notice
When worry hums in the background, notice whether it has a clear object or seems to drift between topics.
Where it is felt
Felt most in the chest, stomach and throat.
Based on Nummenmaa et al. (2014), bodily maps of emotions, and related research. The map shows where people report bodily sensation, on average; individual experience varies.