~ Alka Seltzer ad jingle
Anxiety is a kind of pressure, usually experienced when an emotion is being pushed down or repressed. Although it is not itself an emotion, anxiety is definitely a state. It is inner tension, or stress.
There are two things that help with this.
One is to release it. This is what is happening to the tablet in the glass of water pictured on the right. Passing from a solid to a gaseous state, inner tension is being released. Words, actions or emotions, all these convert trapped energy into another state. They express it.
Relief is slightly different from release in that it does not convert trapped energy as much as minimize the tension around it. It is like what a fizzy drink does for an upset stomach, shrinking gas bubbles so the stomach becomes less distended. If you're anxious and you go for a massage, take a hot bath, or pop an anti-inflammatory, all these relax the body so tension dissipates and you experience relief.
