A friend of mine teaching trans-personal psychology told me once that there is a difference between anxiety and panic. When you are panicking, the feeling is so

A friend of mine teaching trans-personal psychology told me once that there is a difference between anxiety and panic. When you are panicking, the feeling is so intense that you don't know you are panicking. If you have the presence of mind during the experience to know you are experiencing this feeling, this would be anxiety. The rubber band thing works because it interrupts the usual pattern of feedback loop where the anxiety builds and feeds on itself. You mentioned breathing. You are talking about deep, yogic breathing? This is where you engage the diaphragm, ribs, collar bones, breathing smoothly, deeply, and quietly. In any case, I found that anxiety, like procrastination, is the symptom rather than the cause. Anxiety arises from deeper issues. Those deeper issues are addressable.