summary This short report provides an overview of the results of a recent Dutch study on the relation between anxiety and the reactivity of two important stress response systems: the autonomic nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Future research will have to investigate the reactivity of both stress response systems in combination with several other important biological, psychological and social factors. In this way it should be possible to obtain more insight into the complex and interacting systems that underlie anxiety.