And for the past six monthsamid a global pandemicalmost nothing has been certain.

We spoke with several mental health experts about this, and heres what we found out.

What is anxiety?

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Just because you deal with anxietyeven on a semi-regular basisdoesnt necessarily mean that you have an anxiety disorder.

In fact, anxiety is a completely normal human emotion, and even has some benefits, saysDr.

Pavan Madan, a psychiatrist at Community Psychiatry.

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In a dangerous situation, it keeps us alert from threats and might save our lives, he explains.

This is all normal and productive anxiety.

So what exactly do we mean when we talk about anxiety?

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When does anxiety become an anxiety disorder?

But where is that line?

Think of it as a plateau, with some mountain peaks, he tells Lifehacker.

Dimitriu says that looking at our own baseline anxiety can help us determine whether weve crossed into disorder territory.

That the thoughts become obsessive and youre unable to ignore them.

That the behaviors become compulsive and something youre unable to refrain from.

Paying attention to symptomsboth physical and psychologicalcan also help, Dimitriu says.

These can include feeling on edge, irritability, fatigue, catastrophizing and sleep disturbance.

What role does our current reality play in all this?

Once again, he suggests figuring out your baseline anxiety to help determine the severity of your current situation.

What are some ways to help alleviate anxiety?

But if youre new to anxiety, there are a few coping mechanisms that might be useful.

(But that doesnt mean theyre not worth a shot right now!)

(Meditation doesnt work for everyone, however, so consider working in guided sessions to start).

Learning how to live in the here and now, rather than looking into the future and catastrophizing unnecessarily.

This includes changing your what if feelings to what is statements.

Avoiding caffeine, nicotine and the combination of both.