Searching for a Sign of Anxiety Attack

Searching for a sign of anxiety attack can be like looking for a needle in a haystack only not quite as concrete. At least with the needle, once you’ve found it you know that it’s a needle; it feels like a needle, it looks like a needle, and it likely is a needle. With a sign of anxiety attack, it could just as likely be a symptom to a great misdiagnosed problem as it could be a sign of anxiety attack. Seeking good professional help is the most important key to solving this mystery.

Fear is your body’s natural reaction to a lot of outside stimuli. It is normal for the body to react in such a way as to become anxious or fearful because this often protected our ancestors from a lot of problems and harm. It is not normal, however, for our bodies to be overtaken with fear to the point that physical symptoms begin to arise because of it. When this happens, it is usually the sign of a larger problem.

There are many common types of anxiety: fear, panic, worry, dread, obsession, and compulsion are just a few. Clearly, anxiety comes in a variety of forms and is not only represented by fear. It is also quite common. Most people experience anxiety in some form, experiencing it before or after stressful situations like a traumatic event or an important meeting with the boss of your company. Other times the anxiety comes quickly and without warning and for no reason at all.

Anxiety can Affect your Relationships

An anxiety disorder is a more disabling feeling of anxiety that actually is constant and consuming. Anxiety disorder causes people to completely withdraw emotionally and often physically from their family and friends. It can cause people to withdraw indoors and avoid social activities for reasons involving fear. An anxiety attack, conversely, is an unexpected episode that usually involves fear as oppose to an overwhelming feeling.

A sign of anxiety attack can be anything from irregular heartbeats to chest pain. They also include: shaking, twitching, trembling, hot flashes, chills, “rubber legs”, tingling in extremities, difficulty sleeping, unpredictable sleeping patterns, body tension, aches and pains, sweating, clamminess, and stomach problems such as nausea or “butterflies”.

There are also emotional signs including: fearfulness, a feeling of terror, insecurity, incredible self-consciousness, irritability, apprehension, dread, a desire to escape, a feeling you are going to perish, and other frightening emotions.

What is an Anxiety Panic Attack?

An anxiety panic attack is characterized as a panic attack that is induced due to unnatural levels of anxiety. This anxiety can be related to anything, the attacks are not just limited to major stressful events or concerns. Anxiety over a party, a loved one, even anxiety over what clothes to wear can cause an anxiety panic attack.

One of the key features of an anxiety panic attack is the focus of the attack. When a person experiences such panic, usually the panic has a central trigger. For some people, who tend to experience chronic panic attacks, the trigger tends to be the same thing. Agoraphobics, for instance, tend to have an anxiety panic attack anytime they travel beyond their safe distance, for some this can be just beyond their doorstep.

Triggers

For most people the trigger for an anxiety panic attack will vary with the situation. At times of extreme stress panic can trigger as the body’s natural reaction to the high levels of stress. This is known as the fight or flight reaction, and is widely accepted as the main reason behind any panic attack. When a person experiences an extremely stressful, or traumatic, event the body will react. A release of chemicals into a persons system will cause an extreme reaction to the situation.

An anxiety panic attack occurs when the chemicals are triggered by a reactive stressor. There is no need for it, but the body assumes there is some danger it must react to, this is a panic attack. An anxiety panic attack can be marked by many key factors. Overwhelming feelings of fear, and hopelessness are all signs of an attack. Other signs include increased heart rate, sweating, tingling in the extremities, headaches, nausea, extreme emotional fluctuations.

Symptoms

The list could go on for quite sometime, as symptoms tend to be a mixed bag when concerning panic. However, any panic sufferer will attest to the immense feeling of anxiety that accompanies an anxiety panic attack; as if there is nothing in the world that can help you, unfortunately it is one of the major common symptoms that mark an attack.

The good thing about an anxiety panic attack, if it can be said there is one, is that in most cases they can be controlled. Exercise, controlled breathing, healthy diet, relaxation techniques, even just someone to be there and listen, all of these can help control panics. For many the key is to find what causes the panic and reduce the effect that factor has on their life.

Finding Anxiety Attack Help

Getting good anxiety attack help is as easy as consulting your medical professional and taking their advice. It can also be complex, however, as some of that advice may require serious lifestyle changes and a difference in the choices you make in your daily life. There are several types of anxiety attack help that may be prescribed from group therapy to medication to color therapy to hypnosis. Any number or combination of a number of things can help anxiety attacks from taking over your life.

An anxiety attack is a sudden rush of physical and mental discomfort or trauma caused by unknown or known sources. Panic attacks could be generated through bad traffic, a stressful morning, or nothing at all. Generally, there are a series of symptoms that are experienced that typically signal the onslaught of an anxiety or panic attack. The symptoms can include anything from sweating profusely to having extreme heart palpitations. Getting anxiety attack help can be hard because of the unpredictability of these attacks.

Random or Planned?

Although panic attacks may seem to be random to some, there are actually a great number of factors and biochemical processes that occur during a panic attack that make it anything but chaotic at the outset. The human body actually reacts in a set number of stages, all of which help prepare the body and train it how to react. So, it stands to reason that if your body is trained to react poorly through a number of factors the likelihood that you will experience a panic attack is significantly greater than a healthier person.

For example, the likelihood of a generally out of shape individual with poor time management skills and poor stress management skills of experiencing a panic attack in a stressful situation is significantly higher than that of a well adjusted person that is confident with their time and stress management skills. This is because their bodies are trained to handle the situations while conversely the body types that are not will inevitably react poorly.

Get Help

Getting anxiety attack help can, therefore, be as simple as eating properly and taking good care of yourself. Having a good diet and feeding your body the nourishment it needs from day to day is an important step to equipping the organs and blood with the enzymes it needs to perform its job. Regular exercise is also integral to this goal, as well as regular rest and relaxation. Taking the time to enjoy life is some of the best anxiety attack help you can give yourself.

Panic Attack Treatment for Everyone!

First and foremost for any panic attack treatment, one must consult a doctor. Only under an expert in the domain supervision, should you proceed to conduct any panic attack treatment. While there are many therapies and medications available on the market, here are a few common options for panic attack treatment:

Behavior Therapy

This therapy helps to gain control over an individual behavior. Here the individual learn to cope with difficult situations through controlled exposure to the problems. Thus, getting back in charge and taking control once again of life.

Cognitive Therapy

This therapy works with changing unproductive or harmful thoughts to positive and constructive thinking... One learns to examine and distinguish realistic from unrealistic thoughts. Once again, as with the Behavior Therapy, the result achieved is that one gets back to controlling one’s life.

Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT)

This therapy is widely used by therapists, often referred as CBT. The benefit of combining these two panic attack treatments is that the patient learns recovery skills useful for a lifetime. Relaxation technique is another panic attack treatment that helps the patient to cope with stress – stress being one of the main causes of panic attacks. Some such relaxation techniques include breathing training and exercise, such as yoga and Pilates.

There is always specific medication for panic attack treatment.

Medication is very effective and is often used in combination with some of the above mentioned treatments. However, always keep in mind to consult your doctor for any panic attack treatment

Panic attack treatment is conducted over a period of a few months. It is almost always effective, but, do not expect results overnight. Also, get your family involved, you will need all the support and love you can get. Love cures most any illnesses or so they say!

Like any other treatment – panic attack treatment, requires commitment and perseverance. Positive thinking; the will to succeed; the love for life are any time a good approach

Panic attacks are caused by stress and excessive worries which are a part of our day to day life unfortunately; so, do not neglect yourself or your dear ones. Leave your work at your work place and time to relax.

Panic attacks can be treated, just like any other disorder/illness. It is important to acknowledge and seek for help. Also if you see the symptoms in others, do not hesitate to inform them or their next of kin. Take charge of yourself, take charge of life!

The Relationship between Alcohol and Panic Attacks

Alcohol and panic attack experiences; when it comes to chronic panic attack disorder, drinking is perhaps the worst thing a person could do. Alcohol is considered a depressant, and most panic attack sufferers tend to be more susceptible to the effect of such chemicals. Drinking during a panic attack will not help calm a person down, nor will it help relax them and prevent an attack.

Most doctors will agree that alcohol and panic attack experiences do not mix. In fact one of the things a doctor will suggest to any newly diagnosed panic sufferer will be that they cut down on their alcohol consumption. The depressing effect of alcohol can lead to more frequent occurrences of panic. It can also lead to an increased chance of causing depression, which can just cause more problems for any panic sufferer.

In some cases the excess consumption of alcohol can be one of the main causes of frequent panic attacks. The depressing affect of the alcohol can cause a person to dwell on the unwanted stressors that trigger their panics. This only increases the likelihood of stronger, more frequent attacks; something most panic attack sufferers would prefer to do without.

Will just one Drink Hurt?

So now that we know the basic relationship between alcohol and panic attack experiences, does that mean that a panic attack sufferer is not allowed to drink? The answer is surprisingly, no. A person who experiences panic, even frequent panic, is not disallowed to drink. What is considered a no-no is the excessive use and abuse of alcohol. A drink or two to relax yourself is not a bad idea, it’s when a person takes their drinking too far that the real problems begin to arise. This excessive abuse of alcohol is what will trigger these increased panic problems, so the simple solution to this problem? Don’t drink too much.

Panic attacks are not fun, and once the relationship between alcohol and panic attack experiences are truly understood by a person, it will become apparent what they must do. Everyone has different limits, and different alcoholic thresholds. The key is to understand where your limit is and to not step over it. For most people suffering from chronic panic attacks, this limit will begin to become natural. Because as any panic sufferers can tell you, a panic attack is extremely unpleasant and it isn’t worth having even if it means passing up that extra drink.

Panic Attack and Depression: You Don’t Have to Suffer

On average, fourteen million Americans suffer from major panic attack and depression. Three million Americans suffer from panic disorder. It is very common for those with major depression to also have panic attacks and elevated anxiety levels. Because panic can mimic other disorders, such as hypoglycemia, heart problems, asthma and many more serious conditions, sufferers who have not been diagnosed with panic disorder can feel afraid and tentative about their health.

If you are having panic attacks, but are unaware, and are also suffering from depression, then the two can aggravate the other until proper treatment is realized. As depression is another difficult illness to properly diagnose and treat, it is imperative to actively find treatment that works for you.

The Results of Panic Attack and Depression

People suffering from depression will feel bored, sad, hopeless, sluggish, alone and unloved. They may suffer from insomnia, and will have elevated anxiety levels. Because of this elevated anxiety, people with panic attack and depression will often experience panic attacks on a normal basis. When someone has more than one panic attack, they can develop a phobia towards the situation, or a fear to return to a specific place. Add in an already depressed view of the world, a worry that others find no worth in you, and you have a recipe for one miserable person.

Health care professionals are learning that the instances of panic attack and depression coinciding together are more common that thought. While not everyone who is depressed will have panic attacks, many people who suffer from panic may very well be depressed. There are certain SSRI antidepressants on the market today that are specifically recommended for use in treating anxiety along with depression.

Many people who suffer from depression do not know it. When someone who experiences panic attack and depressed has a panic attack, it can be very frightening. Oftentimes, people in the middle of panic attacks feel like they are going to die, or that will lose their minds and “go crazy”. This can prevent some from seeking treatment, as they do not understand what is happening to them, and fear the worse.

When the panic attack is over and the sufferer feels normal again, they may not think anything of it until it happens again. Many people who suffer from panic attacks do not realize that they are not alone. A person who is experiencing panic attack and depression may feel especially overwhelmed and will aggravate the situation by worrying and inflating the scenario in their mind. They may feel hopeless to the point where they cannot see how treatment would be effective.

Treatment for depression with panic attacks is available and very effective. Through any combination of medication, cognitive-behavior therapy and relaxation techniques, sufferers can gain control of their lives back.

The Cause of an Anxiety Attack in Todays World

What is the cause of anxiety attack? In today’s world anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness. In the United States alone 40 million (18.1%) of the adult population is affected. These numbers are on the increase all over the world, demanding immediate attention. Even though studies are usually made only on adults (over 18 years old), this disorder affects all age groups.

We all blame it on stress, too much work load or other over pressuring day to day activities. However, the scientists have found out the cause of anxiety attacks are:

Brian Biochemistry or chemical imbalance

There are two primary neurotransmitters; serotonin and dopamine, that affect a person’s feeling. Any imbalance of these chemicals can provoke a cause of anxiety attack expressed through feeling depressed or sad.

Genetics

Anxiety disorders are also inherited as they tend to run in the family, thus passing it on from one’s mother/father to the son/daughter or any other close relative. The structure of the brain and its process are inherited in totality and that can be another reason why people with chemical imbalance can pass on the anxiety disorder thus, being the cause of anxiety attack. Also growing up as a child in an abusive home, where the family expressed anxiety and violence constantly can be the cause of anxiety attack.

Fight or Flight Mechanism

When we sense danger, the body prepares itself to either fight or run away. This is known as fight or flight mechanism. This mechanism is triggered mostly by a part of the brain called Amygdale. Sometimes the brain misunderstands the message and a situation and translated it as dangerous when it is not in reality. This can be a cause of anxiety attack.

The symptoms are very real and frightening. Thus, convincing us that something is wrong and we get scared and untrusting. The flight or fight failure, the scientists say, is the main cause of panic attacks.

Along with the various medications, the scientists also have discovered the possibility to reserve these symptoms now, with the modern science and technology. Now, all we need to do is to learn to recognize these symptoms and consult the doctor as soon as possible. As any other disorder or illness, treated in time, it can be almost always treated successfully.

Be aware of your body and recognize when is giving you the wrong Symptoms.