Anxiety & Panic Facts

What Is An Anxiety Attack?

By Brian on Wednesday, September 14th, 2011 | No Comments

By Yap Kc

While feeling anxious is a normal reaction to certain stimulus, people with anxiety disorders are constantly subjected to this annoying feeling. There are many treatments available for anxiety attacks that can help patients lead a normal and healthy life.

Anxiety is the feeling that is generated when we are placed in situations of stress or when we experience physical or emotional trauma. The sweating of palms before an exam or the heart palpitations before a big interview, or even while making a marriage proposal, that butterflies-in-the-stomach are all physical manifestations of anxiety. Anxiety is a very common feeling and has many common reasons. It is a purely natural reaction and as such is not harmful except when it develops into a chronic condition when the individual feels anxiety without any cause for it. One way of looking at an anxiety attack is an early warning of danger. When danger is expected, the body automatically goes into a defensive mode. In case the danger is real this mode sees us through.

As per the National Institute of Mental Health, anxiety problems are the most common form of mental illness that exists in the United States. More than 40 million individuals over 18 are affected every year. There are many types of anxiety disorders.

* The phantom anxiety is one that exists when you cannot figure out why you are so anxious.

* Panic attacks are sudden, unpredictable, and usually have no recognizable cause.

* Obsessions and compulsions will often develop because of anxiety disorders.

* Social aversion and inability to function in public is also a form of anxiety disorder.

* Sometimes this can turn into a phobia for specific situations or objects.

Whatever the form of an anxiety attack, the thing that is always consistent in all victims who suffer from one, is the uncontrollable fear. This sense of dread can be so intense that the victim will be in danger of immobilization. People with an anxiety disorder will go through the one or all of the following stages.

* Feeling of anxiety that is constant and inescapable.

* Anxiety that will often cause the victim to become isolated and suffer from emotional withdrawal.

* Anxiety that will now permit the victim to function normally (like leaving their home or meeting new people).

Since the victim of anxiety attacks will develop symptoms causing them to slowly withdraw into decreasing familiarity, this often causes secondary problems like depression, lack of self-esteem, alcoholism, and drug usage. Eventually the anxiety attacks will start interfering with the individual’s performance at work and in personal relationships. Fortunately, all such disorders can be treated easily. Most people who suffer from anxiety attacks go on to lead normal lives free from fear and worry.

Panic attacks are anxiety attacks of unusual severity usually accompanied by overwhelming fear. Anxiety attacks can occur at anytime and at any place. This gives them a very random nature and people who have them are always overstressed because they never know when the next one might occur. The common feeling associated with panic attacks is the feeling of imminent death.

About the Author: Eddie Yap writes on various tips and techniques to stop panic attacks. If you like to claim an exclusive FREE report on how to eliminate your panic attacks in 2 simple ways and discover a secret natural cure for your panic attacks symptoms, drop by now at: http://secretinfosite.com/top4/stoppanicattack

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Stop Anxiety In Its Tracks. What You Need To Know About Panic Attack.

By Brian on Wednesday, August 24th, 2011 | No Comments

By John Wellington

Anxiety and panic attack can occur at a moment’s notice ven when you have never experienced the symptoms before. Some people may find themselves in the middle of an attack as their very first sign that there is a problem. Sometimes the nervousness and fright attach reoccurs and other times it simply disappear never to return.

The symptoms of these kinds of incident are quite difficult to identify. You may think that you are having a type of anxiety and panic attack when you are simply experiencing a great contract of pressure. Stress can have deep consequence on a person’s body. The powerful state can lead to emotional and physical symptoms.

These emotional and physical symptoms often imitate the ones found in anxiety and panic attacks. You may find yourself short of breath. Some people complain that they feel as if they can’t breathe when they are experiencing an anxiety and panic attack. The incapability to breathe freely adds to the pressure which leads to progressively greater symptoms in turn.

A common feeling among those who have experienced such incident includes pains in the chest area. In fact, many people suffering an anxiety and panic attack often think that they are experiencing a heart attack. The common complaint is tightness and pain in the chest which leads to the clear worry of heart failure.

Another common complaint shared by many people who have had an anxiety and panic attack is an overpowering feeling of dread. Many of these individuals have the unavoidable feeling that something terrible is going to happen. This occurrence is completely out of their control and it is very frightening.

The feeling of fear, chest pains and shortness of breath make this kind of episode very scary for anyone who experiences it. Anxiety and panic attack is quite terrifying for these individuals and the symptoms feed into the fear making the whole experience terrible. The very symptoms can cause the attack to get worse.

Many people become so worried during situations that imitate the ones that they were involved in during their last anxiety and panic attack that they throw themselves into a similar state, leading to another incident. For example, if someone has an episode in a crowded store, she may be more likely to have another anxiety and panic attack in a similar atmosphere.

Some people luckily never experience anxiety and panic attack. Others have a single episode during a time of great stress and other less fortunate individuals face these attacks on a weekly, even daily basis.

About the Author: John Wellington provides readers with up-to-date commentaries, articles, and reviews for health, wellness as well as other related information.

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What Can Cause A Panic Attack?

By Brian on Wednesday, August 17th, 2011 | No Comments

By George Goodman

No one knows for certain what causes panic attacks to occur, however a number of factors have been identified by researchers. These factors include genetics, physical illness and/or taking medications that affect the part of the brain that handles fear, major life stresses, and psychological disorders.

Panic attacks are the body’s biological alarm that allows people to appropriately and quickly respond to an immediate threat to their health or their life. It’s a survival mechanism that is deeply programmed into our psyche. Unfortunately some people are susceptible to this mechanism being triggered unnecessarily when there’s no imminent danger.

** Genetics **

Panic attacks are the most common psychiatric illness in the U.S. Panic attacks are twice as common in women as in men. Research has found that panic disorder appears to run in families, indicating that genetics may play a very strong part in a person’s risk of developing panic disorder.

** Stress **

The most common precursor to a panic attack is when life stress levels have risen dramatically in a person’s life. This may be an illness in the family, a job change or job loss, or any other major change that creates an overwhelming feeling of uncertainty and anxiety in a person’s life. It is known that people who have tendencies to take on excessive responsibility tend to suffer most often from panic attacks.

Another cause of panic disorder is also an underlying psychological condition called PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Studies have shown that people who suffer from PTSD exhibit a far higher rate of panic disorder than the rest of the population. While the causes of panic disorder are unknown, this correlation seems to indicate that stress plays a tremendous part in the triggering of a panic attack.

** Physical Illness and Medication **

Many times, the initial panic attack a person experiences may not be related to stress at all. Sometimes the attack is purely biological. Anyone who suffers from an illness that induces symptoms similar to panic or anxiety can trigger a panic attack. This is even more likely when medications are being taken that has side effects that might affect body or brain chemistry which might induce feelings of fear, anxiety or panic. Once those feelings are triggered, if they can not be managed properly, and the feelings and thoughts can very easily snowball into a full-blown panic attack.

One example is hypoglycemia – a condition where insulin receptors in the brain malfunction, which alters the production of glucose into energy for the brain. This lack of energy causes the brain to signal the adrenal glands for more adrenaline for energy.

While the adrenaline is a survival tool that the body uses to prevent brain starvation, an unfortunate side-effect is that adrenaline will also likely trigger a panic attack.

** Hyperventilation **

While hyperventilation is a panic attack symptom, it can also be a cause. It stems from the body having too much oxygen. In order to use oxygen absorbed into your blood, your body needs a certain level of carbon dioxide. When people don’t breathe properly, or they breathe shallower due to nervousness or highly stressful situations, they do not allow the body to retain enough carbon dioxide, and as result, their body can not extract needed oxygen from the bloodstream.

Improper breathing, especially during difficult or stressful times, can contribute greatly to the onset of a panic attack unless breathing is slowed and relaxation techniques are practiced.

About the Author: Did you find this article on panic attack causes helpful? If yes, visit our site today to find out how to deal with panic attacks once and for all…

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Overcome Your Anxiety

By Brian on Friday, August 12th, 2011 | No Comments

By Paul MacIver

Everybody at one point experiences anxiety when faced with a stressful or worrying situation. Anxiety is the feeling of fear, apprehension and worry, accompanied by nausea, palpitations, chest pain, and breathlessness. Sometimes this can interfere with your normal life. Excessive anxiety can be linked with other psychiatric conditions, such as depression.

Anxiety can be in many forms. It may be a fear of snakes, a fear of heights or stage fright, or it could also be nonstop worry about your parenting skills or constant fretting about success at work, etc.

Components:

Anxiety is said to have four components:

Cognitive components: This imposes fear of uncertain danger.

Somatic components: When faced with a frightening situation your blood pressure and heart rate are increased, you tend to sweat, and blood flow to the major muscle groups is increased. The somatic signs of anxiety might include pale skin, sweating, trembling, and pupil dilation.

Emotional components: The emotional components of anxiety cause a sense of dread or panic, nausea, and chills.

Behavioral components: This would lead to both voluntary and involuntary behaviors, and you maybe directed at avoiding the source of anxiety which is quite common.

Types of Anxiety and the symptoms:

There are various types of anxiety – Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Post traumatic Stress Disorder, Social Anxiety and specific phobias. Anxiety Disorder is very common throughout the world. It is a chronically recurring case of anxiety that can seriously affect your life. People with this disorder feel afraid of something but are unable to articulate the specific fear. If you are constantly worrying, and have a hard time controlling your worries then you might be suffering from anxiety disorder.

Some of the common symptoms of anxiety disorder are:

• Muscle tension

• Heart palpitations

• Dizziness

• Fatigue

• Shortness of breath

• Sweating

• Nausea

• Cold hands

• Jumpiness

• Difficulty falling asleep

• Hot flashes or chills

• Diarrhea and irritated bowel syndrome

Anxiety can make you cranky and irritable. You may get tired easily and often suffer from insomnia. It is very important that you seek professional medical help. For the initial diagnosis of this problem, a good assessment is required by taking a standardized interview or questionnaire procedure with expert evaluation. There should be a thorough examination to find out the cause that could have triggered this condition. If the patient has a family history of anxiety disorders then this could be a possibility.

Treatment:

You can get help and come out of your fear. There are four types of therapy that have proved to be helpful and they have been used successfully to address the symptoms of anxiety disorders.

Behavior Therapy: Here you are made to face your fear in a planned environment, and using different relaxation techniques, you are made to accept and overcome your anxiety and panic. This helps you to become more confident about managing fear and anxiety and also prepares you to face any kind of inducing situations.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy: This is the most popular and effective type of psychotherapy to overcome your anxiety. The goal is to understand your thinking process and help you to develop coping skills before your anxiety takes over. This helps you:

• Challenge false or self-defeating beliefs

• Think positive

Psychodynamic psychotherapy: This therapy helps those who have fear because of unconscious mental conflict. You are made to uncover the conflict as a means to stop the fear-causing anxiety and panic.

Alternative therapies: Different therapies have been developed for treating anxiety, like EMDR – a therapy that utilizes rapid eye movement, repetitive sounds and tapping to reintegrate an “out of sync” brain. Even acupuncture is being used to treat anxiety.

All these therapies depend on various subjective factors, such as therapist competence. It is advisable to go to only a well known and experienced psychotherapist. Self help and relaxation techniques also play an important role in relieving anxiety symptoms. Improving your eating habits and reduction in caffeine and sugar intake also helps. Exercise and a relaxation technique such as yoga, is also very helpful. Try to reach out to your friends and family and share your troubles; do not let it get accumulated before it hits you hard. Anxiety is very common and you are not the only one, so don’t hesitate to seek help.

About the Author: Paul MacIver provides detailed information on treatments for Anxiety and Panic Attacks at http://www.anxiety-help-online.info

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