Root cause of anxiety?

So, I have a strong hunch that there must be a root emotional cause of anxiety and not in a worldly manner (*like not related to one's life story*). More like an error in judgment of relation to oneself and others. First candidate that comes to my mind is not being kind towards oneself which produces lack of confidence, which in turn produces anxiety given unfavourable external conditions (*like meeting new people etc.*). I have witnessed meditation to ease anxiety, but only seems like a partial temporary solution. What would be your understanding of the root cause of anxiety, and any possible practices to resolve it on more permanently?