Anxiety relief can be obtained from many sources.
Some people who are experiencing acute or chronic anxiety may go to a doctor to receive specific medication.
Medications for anxiety relief include tranquilizers, sleeping pills, and sometimes anti depressants.
The problem of these types of medication is that they address the anxiety, which is only a symptom of emotional unrest, without achieving relief from the fundamental causes, nor do medications per se help with changing people's responses to chronic anxiety provoking situations.
For anxiety relief, a person can also go to natural therapists who offer extracts from natural herbs and plants which include chamomile, St John's Wort, valerian and many other herbs.
Symptomatic relief from anxiety can be obtained from the many services offered by allied health professionals which services include massage, aromatherapy, acupuncture and therapies include art, or dance, and music therapies.
Often exercise provides a measure of anxiety relief, and much is said about endorphins which are released by the body when exercising - chemicals which create a euphoric feeling known as a runner's high and make people feel good and relaxed.
For most people there is probably no need to go to the extremes of athletic endeavor and great benefits can be obtained from modest amounts of regular exercise which is well within your individual capabilities.
There is no doubt that many people who go frequently to the gym, are using it as a means of stress relief, and perhaps for many "gym junkies", it could be that they could consider using other means to bring down their levels of stress, as there is little point in exchanging one type of obsessive -compulsive behavior merely for another.
People who suffer from excessive anxiety really need at some point to address the factors which cause it as obtaining what is merely relief from anxiety is not as satisfactory in the long run as finding for yourself a cure.
Obtaining permanent relief from circumstances which presently cause and will continue to cause high levels of anxiety can be achieved by techniques which delve into the causes of your stress.
Perhaps you are not seeing the whole picture, perhaps misunderstanding facts and the actual motivations of people who appear to be causing you stress.
Often looking at the situation with the help of a trained counselor or mentor can help you to see another person's point of view, or help you to adjust and adapt better to difficult life situations that you may not be able to change in the immediate or long term future.
Changing your expectations of a situation can often reduce your levels of anxiety and stress.
The biggest motivation for finding ways and means to obtain stress relief is that chronic stress and high levels of anxiety are known to cause and contribute to physical illness and disorders in the body.
Anxiety and resultant stress is often a cause of eating high calorie "comfort" food which can in turn lead to obesity.
Not only does obesity put additional stress on other body organs, it can promote chronic inflammation of the body tissues, leading to serious illness.
No matter what the causes are of a person's anxiety, there is no doubt that if they are feeling ill and depressed, their capacity to deal with the anxiety, and have the energy necessary to go out and make changes, is severely compromised.
If people do not take care, the cycle of anxiety and using inappropriate means to resolve it can rapidly lead to a cycle of ill health and depression.
People seek relief from anxiety in an inappropriate manner when they resort to the use of excessive alcohol, smoking tobacco or by using recreational drugs.
There are many dangers in using substance abuse as a means of anxiety relief.
No one doubts that in the very short term these methods are effective, but there is a negative side to drug use, a major point being that once addictive drugs are introduced, even more intense symptoms of anxiety can be expected to occur with any level of withdrawal.