Anxiety caused by how reality is perceived

A big cause of anxiety is distortions in how reality is perceived. What do I mean by this? Well, for example, the distortion that a thought = reality. This is a major perceptual problem that I believe is so pervasive in society that it is practically (if it isn't) considered normal. People often categorize anxiety as mental disorder caused by excessive worrying. But I believe, while this is true, perception (or how we see the world and ourselves) is the underlying cause behind the worrying, which leads to the symptoms. In other words, while trying to address excessive worrying is a good thing, it is best done so by addressing perceptions.

One of the biggest perceptual changes that have helped me is the way I view anxiety symptoms (sweaty hands, racing heart, flushing, trembling voice, shakiness, etc). What I did is when I noticed these symptoms, I would tell myself that these things are not a problem, but the symptoms of a problem.

This may seem trivial on the surface, but from what I've noticed, it is the symptoms of anxiety that cause the most worrying, and that worrying is caused by perceiving anxiety symptoms as being the problem. In fact, anxiety symptoms are a good thing, they make you aware that something is bothering you that you might otherwise not be aware of. This is why people that use things like alcohol or other temporary fixes to cover up their anxiety symptoms end up exasperating the problem because their lack of awareness allows it to go unchecked (along with the side effects of the actual fix).

The solution to solving the anxiety puzzle is to address not so much the symptoms (which is just sweeping the problem under the rug), but to go after the way thoughts are perceived, and the way the self and the world are perceived (realizing that all thoughts are just thoughts is important in this process).