Anxiety Attack: The Most Common Symptoms
- Insane, overwhelming strike of panic
- Hyperventilation
- Dizziness, feeling faint or light headed.
- Accelerated heartbeat or heart palpitations
- Numbness, particularly in your feet and hands.
- Feeling detached and unreal. Basically, you feel like you are going crazy.
- Fearing youre dying.
An anxiety attack can roll in with most of the above or just a few symptoms, coming one after another or all at once.
The symptoms can last from a few seconds to a terrible half an hour, though the average number is 10 minutes says, Doctor Merav Gur.
To Learn To Cope With An Anxiety Attack Effectively First You Need To Understand What Exactly Happens With Your Body And Mind
In a nutshell an anxiety attack is an exaggeration of the arousal of your sympathetic nervous system.
Heres a more detailed explanation for this:
Your brain focuses on some alleged thread, for instance, a very scary thought that was floating somewhere at your subconscious. Your thalamus the part of the brain responsible for regulating consciousness, sleep and alertness transfers that information to your amygdala the part of the brain responsible for emotional reactions, decision-making and memory which marks it as danger and sends a signal to your sympathetic nervous system, activating the fight-or-flight response.
At the same time, your brain decides to shoot an extra dose of adrenaline inside your blood system, thus triggering the initial panic attack symptoms like rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, sweating and blood pressure rise.
All of the above are the normal sympathetic responses, in the case that you were facing some real danger. But as in reality theres no danger present, you start panicking as you fail to ascribe these symptoms to something particular and start believing things like you are having a heart attack/severe allergic reaction or actually dying.
This huge mix of fear and panic make other symptoms to kick in and voila a full-scale anxiety attack in action.
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When Should I Call The Doctor
Some panic attacks have signs that can be confused with a physical problem like a heart attack. If you have chest pain or trouble breathing or lose consciousness, seek emergency medical care.
You should call your healthcare provider if you have panic attacks and experience:
- Chronic anxiety that interferes with daily life.
- Difficulty concentrating.
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The Link Between Anxiety Symptoms And Depression
Many people with anxiety disorders also suffer from depression at some point. Anxiety and depression are believed to stem from the same biological vulnerability, which may explain why they so often go hand-in-hand. Since depression makes anxiety worse , its important to seek treatment for both conditions.
Breathing Exercise For Panic Attacks
If you’re breathing quickly during a panic attack, doing a breathing exercise can help. Follow these steps:
You should start to feel better in a few minutes. You may feel tired afterwards.
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Symptoms Of Anxiety Disorders:
Anyone may experience these symptoms during stressful times. However, individuals with anxiety disorders may experience them in absence of stress, with more severe symptoms and/or with several symptoms appearing together.
- Inability to relax
- Rapid pulse or pounding, skipping, racing heart
- Nausea, chest pain or pressure
- Feeling a “lump in the throat”
- Dry mouth
- Feelings of dread, apprehension or losing control
- Trembling or shaking, sweating or chills
- Fainting or dizziness, feelings of detachment
- Thoughts of death
Medical Conditions Which Can Cause Waves Of Anxiety
Its important that your doctor or other health professional rules out any other problems you may have, such as:
These conditions can also cause you to suffer from anxiety, and anti-anxiety medication would absolutely not be necessary. Indeed, long-term it may make the problem much worse. Id be delighted, therefore, to show you how you can help yourself. So read on!
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Can Uncertainty Cause Anxiety
Uncertainty doesnt cause anxiety but it creates breeding grounds for anxiety, and the rise of uncertainty in much of public and private life may be one reason why anxiety has become the most prevalent mental health condition today. Worry, the cognitive component of anxiety, is activated by the mere possibility of a bad outcomeand for many modern concerns, possibility can almost never be ruled out entirely. But of course, possibility does not equal probability. Anxiety with its payload of worry can be seen as an attempt to avoid uncertaintyto dispel the discomfort it creates. The better approach, say experts, is to learn to tolerate some uncertainty and recognize that most of life is not black or white but shades of gray.
Anxiety Attacks Vs Panic Attacks
Anxiety attacks share many of the same symptoms as a panic attack, including rapid heartbeat, sweating, and racing thoughts. Anxiety attacks are usually slightly less severe than a panic attack, and may not involve a specific trigger or phobia. Anxiety attacks usually also dont involve fear of the specific place where the attack took place, as panic attacks often do.
To be diagnosed with panic disorder, physical ailments like thyroid and respiratory issues need to be ruled out. You usually have to have had multiple panic attacks, and the panic attacks have to had impacted your quality of life and ability to function well.
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The Effective Habit: You Put No Demands On Yourself To Feel Calm You Allow Yourself To Feel However You Feelthe Anxiety Habit: You Believe That You Shouldnt Feel Anxious So You Try To Fight It
People with an anxiety problem put demands on their feelings. They believe there is a right way and a wrong way to feel in any given situation. They might deem it ok to feel anxious before giving a speech in front of 100 people, but not ok to be sitting at work feeling panicky for seemingly no reason.
Well unfortunately, your mind does not care about should. You feel the way you feel. There is no should, your feelings just are what they are. Demanding that they be anything other than what they are is just going to drive you nuts, because feelings are something that happens to you, not something you choose.
People who do not have an anxiety problem accept this. They have no expectations that they should feel calm all the time. So when they dont feel calm, this is no big deal. And they dont treat it like its a big deal. They let themselves feel whatever they feel and move on with their day.
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What Are The Different Types Of Anxiety Disorder
This section provides an overview of the most common types of anxiety disorders.
- Generalised anxiety disorder
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
Generalised anxiety disorder
GAD is common. The main symptom of GAD is over worrying about different activities and events. This may feel out of your control. You feel anxious a lot of the time if you have GAD. You might feel on edge and alert to your surroundings.
This can affect your day-to-day life. You might find that it affects your ability to work, travel places or leave the house. You might also get tired easily or have trouble sleeping or concentrating. You might have physical symptoms, such as muscle tension and sweating.
It is common to have other conditions such as depression or other anxiety disorders if you have GAD.
GAD can be difficult to diagnose because it does not have some of the unique symptoms of other anxiety disorders. Your doctor is likely to say you have GAD if you have felt anxious for most days over six months and it has had a bad impact on areas of your life.
Panic disorder
You will have regular panic attacks with no particular trigger if you have panic disorder. They can happen suddenly and feel intense and frightening. You may also worry about having another panic attack.
Panic disorder symptoms can include the following.
You may also dissociate during a panic attack. Such as feeling detached from yourself.
Social anxiety disorder
Some common situations where you may experience anxiety are the following.
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How Can I Calm My Anxiety Fast
Medication is an option for long-term anxiety. But, they are not always an instant fix. Anti-anxiety medications, such as Ativan, Klonopin, or Xanax, can work quicklywithin minutes or hours. Antidepressant medications, sometimes used to treat anxiety, can take a few weeks to reach maximum effectiveness. As Heathman explains, Medication can take much longer to work as medication must be ingested, digested, absorbed, and then transferred in the bloodstream.
If youre experiencing anxiety for the first time or youre having an unexpected spike of anxiety, there are some techniques you can employ in the moment to help with your developing symptoms. Sudden onset anxiety is best controlled with relaxation techniques, Heathman says, which can work instantly after being employed. Some calming strategies include:
All of these techniques work by changing your brains focus, so that anxiety symptoms can pass. One of the keys to calming anxiety is also recognizing when and why it is happening. If you can sense that it is spiking, Saxena explains, then you can challenge yourself to use the same thought pattern to understand that it is a passing feeling.
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Anxious Trends During Childhood
A second reason why people develop panic attacks is that as children, they may have grown up in an atmosphere which, for one reason or another, failed to teach them that the world was “their oyster”, a safe place in which they could happily pursue their own enjoyment. Maybe there was an early death in the family, severe illness, or some other serious problem like alcoholism or divorce. Maybe the parents were themselves anxious and over protective, perhaps in response to their own anxiety disorder. Perhaps the child learned to spend too much time and effort taking care of others, trying too hard to please others, and feeling responsible for the happiness of others.
How To Treat Night Time Anxiety Attacks
The treatment of nighttime anxiety attacks may vary from one person to another. You can combine medications and self-care techniques to reduce frequency and manage the symptoms. Anti-anxiety medications may be prescribed to help calm the nerves. The common techniques include:
- Understanding the cause of the panic attack
- Looking for ways to deal with the symptoms
- Doing activities that calm the system such as tai chi or meditation
- Getting into a regular sleeping pattern, especially for people who have poor sleeping habits
Cognitive behavioral therapy is often recommended in some cases the therapy has a high success rate in dealing with anxiety attacks. The therapy focuses on the individual’s thought and behavior process. If your attacks are caused by acid reflux or obstructive sleep apnea, seek medical treatments. A balanced diet, less fatty, overly spicy, processed food and moderate alcohol, and regular exercise can also help manage the condition.
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Treatments For Nighttime Anxiety
While coping strategies like improving sleep hygiene and creating bedtime rituals may help, you might also find it helpful to work with a therapist, says Peterson.
Some people also find relief with anxiety medication, she adds. You can talk with your doctor to determine if medication is the right option.
However, treatment for anxiety depends on the individual. What works for you may be entirely different from what works for someone else.
The Causes Of Unexpected Panic Attacks
Expected panic attacks are typically associated with a specific trigger such as crowds, flying or exams, whereas unexpected panic attacks have no apparent trigger and can seem to happen for no reason.
It is not yet known what causes panic attacks but certain factors may play an important role, including genetics, mental health conditions, major stress or having a predisposition to stress.
Panic attacks are typically experienced as a result of misinterpreting physical symptoms of anxiety. Heart palpitations may be mistaken for symptoms of a heart attack, breathlessness or feeling faint may be taken as a sign that a person is collapsing or dying, and the racing thoughts can lead a person to think that they are losing control of their mind.
These misinterpretations which a person may be unaware that they are doing can trigger a panic attack, which seems to appear out of the blue.
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How Do You Treat Anxiety Attacks
If youve had an anxiety attack, and especially if it becomes a recurring issue, its a good idea to visit your healthcare provider to rule out any serious medical issues that may be causing your symptoms. Your provider can also help you to understand what may be causing your anxiety attacks, and to refer you to a mental health professional if needed.
Just as anxiety attacks may have more than one cause, easing anxiety symptoms usually takes a multifaceted approach. Here are a few areas you may choose to focus on.
Why Do I Get Panic Attacks For No Reason
Have you recently felt that you have had a panic attack for no reason? Do you get panic attacks and cant understand why they happen?
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders groups panic attacks into two categories – expected or unexpected. If you feel as though you have had a panic attack for no reason, it is likely that you have experienced one that would be considered unexpected.
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