Anxiety attacks are more common than most people realize. When someone starts to experience panic or anxiety attacks, they tend to keep it to themselves and not tell others about it. It is not uncommon to feel a lot of shame related to having anxiety attacks, and many people hide their problem from the world because of this.

Anxiety, panic and stress are the number one health problems in America, so you are definitely not alone in dealing with your anxiety attacks. A panic or anxiety attack can be described as a sudden and intense feeling of fear, accompanied by several types of physical discomfort.

The physical symptoms differ from person to person, but there are a few that are reported by a lot of anxiety sufferers. These symptoms include, but are not necessarily limited to sweating, numbness or tingling in the arms, chills or hot flashes, trembling or shaking, shortness of breath or feeling like you are choking, chest tightness or pain, heart palpitations or fast heart rate, nausea or upset stomach, feeling dizzy, lightheaded, or faint, feelings of detachment or being in a different reality, fear of losing control or going crazy, fear of dying.

The physical symptoms that come with anxiety attacks are not dangerous, but they can be extremely uncomfortable. Some people are able to keep their panic symptoms hidden when it happens, and others have very visible physical symptoms that others can see. Both types of attacks can be equally painful and scary to go through.

Panic disorder is not the same as anxiety attacks. Anxiety disorder is a diagnosis used when someone is experiencing recurrent anxiety attacks over time and in addition spend time between the attacks worrying about the next one. Anxiety attacks can also occur on their own, and many people only experience a few of them without ever developing panic disorder.

Although it feels like a lot longer, most panic and anxiety attacks peak within ten minutes and pass within twenty to thirty minutes. This doesn’t seem like much to someone who has never experienced a panic attacks, but when you are in that situation, it can feel like it’ll never end. It may help however, to look at our watch when you are experiencing anxiety attacks and remind yourself that it will not go on for very long. This can give you some comfort, and it can help ground you to “reality” so you’re not as inward focused.

Panic and anxiety attacks do not only occur in adults. Even though they are often overlooked, the medical community is starting to realize that anxiety and panic is also quite common in children and teens. It can be difficult to recognize anxiety attack in children because they don’t have the same ability to communicate what they are experiencing as adults have.

It is suspected that a lot of the psychological problems people experience as adults really start when they are children. Fortunately, anxiety in children is very treatable when it is taken seriously and given the proper medical attention.

Panic and anxiety attacks can feel very traumatic and they can seriously limit your life if you let them. Fortunately, anxiety treatment has very good results, and the majority of anxiety sufferers are cured of their symptoms.

Does your child tense up when the subject of going to school or day care is raised? Does he throw temper tantrums or start to cry as you try to get him to leave for school in morning? Or maybe he pretends he’s sick to avoid going to school. If he does any of these, he may be suffering from anxiety disorder.

Anxiety disorder is a condition characterized by feelings of apprehension or extreme anxiety. It can manifest itself physically by sweating, accelerate heart rate or palpitations, hyper-ventilation, and a host of other symptoms.

Many parents think that this is just a phase and that their child will eventually grow out of it. If, however, this is a true case of anxiety disorder, ignoring it will probably only make the problem worse.

It’s estimated that some sort of childhood anxiety disorder affects up to 10% of school age kids.

Probably the most common type of childhood anxiety is separation anxiety. Separation anxiety occurs when the child experiences severe anxiety when their primary caregiver, usually their mom or dad, leaves them with another person. Separation anxiety usually occurs between the ages of 12 to 28 months – but it can occur or re-occur later. If you’ve just moved to a new neighborhood or town or if you have recently been through a divorce, separation anxiety can be triggered in the child even if he’s never experienced it before. Even though not all children experience separation anxiety, it is a normal part of growing up. If your kid is over five years old and still having episodes of separation anxiety, you may need to take him to see a counselor or psychologist.

Social anxiety is another type of anxiety that many children face, especially kids that are shy, awkward, or have some sort of speech impediment. Children can be very cruel to other kids – often unintentionally. And no kid likes to be embarrassed or made fun of. If a kid is the constant target of bullying or teasing, he may become anxious at the mere thought of interacting with other kids. Social anxiety usually begins in the teen years, but it can start in early childhood as well. About 10% of adults in the U.S. have some form of social anxiety – which includes stage fright and public speaking. There is no one size fits all cure for social phobia. Most adults that have it never get over it.

Many children suffer from generalized panic attacks. In other words, there is no explicit event or action that triggers the attack, it just happens. This kind of anxiety disorder can be the most paralyzing of all for a kid because they don’t know what’s causing it and have no idea how to stop it. Childhood panic attacks can have lifetime consequences if not treated. They can interfere with a child’s ability to make friendships and try new experiences. If your child is experiencing panic attacks, you should take him to see a child psychiatrist. Panic attacks may be so severe that the only course of action may be prescription medicine.

When someone mentions anxiety disorder, it’s rare that a picture of a child enters their mind. But many kids experience some form of anxiety every day and desperately need for some adult somewhere to acknowledge it and help them deal with it.

The short but confusing answer to this question is yes…and no. It depends on what is meant by “cure” for anxiety. If you are looking for a quick fix, something like a pill you can take and with the snap of your fingers you’re cured, then no, there is no “cure” for anxiety. However, if by cure you mean treatment, something that in time will help you overcome your anxiety, then the answer would be “Yes, absolutely!”

First of all, it’s important to realize that anxiety is not one specific thing; it can range from general uneasiness and feelings of stress and fear, usually called generalized anxiety disorder or general anxiety, to full blown panic or anxiety attacks, which to a lot of people are so intense they feel like they are dying.

Anxiety treatments range from prescription medication to self- help and natural remedies. The medical community usually treats panic attacks with anti-anxiety medication, cognitive behavioral therapy or a combination of these two. Although helpful in some situations, anti anxiety medication is not a cure for anxiety in itself.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is a type of therapy that focuses on changing the thoughts and behavior of the sufferer. The idea behind cognitive behavioral therapy is that our negative thoughts and behavioral patterns are the cause of our anxiety. Through changing our habits, we can overcome our anxiety.

Whether you are in therapy or not, there are a lot of things you can do yourself to improve your situation. Even if you are currently seeing a therapist or counselor, that person can not be with you twenty four seven, so it’s important that you are proactive, developing good coping mechanism. Being prepared doesn’t mean that you should always expect to have an anxiety attack, but rather that you know what to do should it happen.

In addition to working on your thoughts and habits, either with a therapist or using an anxiety system at home, there are some simple but powerful things you can try to reduce your anxiety. One of the first things you can do is stop the intake of alcohol, drugs and caffeine. All of these substances can cause anxiety reactions even in people who don’t suffer from an anxiety disorder.

Next, you can start getting some moderate exercise. Studies now show that regular exercise reduces anxiety. According to CNN, at least half an hour a day seems to get the best long term effects, but as little as tenor fifteen minutes can help change your mood immediately. Regular exercise can also help you sleep better which in turn can improve your anxiety situation.

Try meditation. Studies indicate that certain types of meditation can have a positive effect in relieving anxiety.

Pay attention to what you eat; are you getting the nutrients that you need? Are you eating enough fresh fruit and vegetables? Could there be something in your food the you are having an allergic reaction to? Studies show that there could be a correlation between certain foods and anxiety and depression.

There might not be a quick and easy cure for anxiety available, but most types of anxiety disorders are still very treatable and there are many things you can do to help your own situation.

All of us experience stress and anxiety in our lives. We are all familiar with the sources of stress and anxiety. They include financial concerns, work deadlines, providing for our children, countless tasks to do and errands to run, heavy traffic, relationships with co-workers, family relationships, and the list goes on. The irony is that the responses of our physical bodies that are designed to protect us can turn against us when stress and anxiety is without relief or prolonged. Under stress, our heart rate and blood pressure increase to provide our brains with more blood flow for oxygen and nutrients. Our blood sugar increases to provide us with more energy as we would need in a crisis. Our blood is routed away from our intestines in order to provide energy for the large muscles in our arms and legs for fight or flight. If the source of our stress and anxiety subsides after a brief period of time, our bodies return these functions to their normal process. If the source of our stress and anxiety remains constant then our physical responses become harmful to our health. We begin to experience insomnia, joint and muscle inflammation and pain, fatigue, hypertension, perhaps heart constriction, indigestion, higher cholesterol levels, impotence, either lack of or excess appetite resulting in weight loss or weight gain, weakened immune system making us vulnerable to colds and flu, and so on. Emotionally we experience feelings of irritability, impatience, lack of sexual interest, lack of concentration, depression, restlessness, excessive alertness and reaction to normal external stimuli, or feelings of being constantly overwhelmed and helpless.

Our bodies need time to recover from being in crisis mode due to stress and anxiety in order to restore normal physical balance and functioning. We need a break from and relief from the stress and anxiety in order to maintain our health. Some of us have had experience with prescription, synthetic drugs to ease anxiety and stress, but have suffered the potentially harmful and discomforting side effects which, ironically added to our feelings of stress and anxiety. Fortunately, many of us have discovered substances provide by nature that our bodies readily absorb and utilize to deal with stress and anxiety without the possible harmful side effects of prescription, synthetic drugs.

When dealing with stress and anxiety, our bodies need a proper balance of vitamins and minerals that can be obtained in multivitamin formulas some of which are specially created to provide extra stress protection with calcium, potassium, magnesium, a full spectrum of B vitamins and pantothenic acid.

Essential fatty acids provide us with Omega 3 and Omega 6 which help balance blood sugar levels, blood pressure, and provide our neurotransmitters in our brain to function quickly and efficiently. Essential fatty acids help reduce joint and muscle inflammation and fatigue, and enhances the functions of our respiratory and intestinal digestive system providing our muscles organs, and brains with the oxygen and nutrients needed to deal with stress and anxiety. Flaxseed oil with lignans and fish oils which have been filtered to remove heavy metals can provide us with the essential fatty acids that we need for dealing with stress and anxiety.

GABA i.e. Gamma-aminobutyric Acid, which is an amino acid, effects the neuro-receptors in our brain. This helps us deal with stress and anxiety by lowering over-reaction to potentially stress causing stimuli and enables us to be detached in an emotionally healthy way providing us with the calmness and poise we need to deal efficiently and effectively with what we are presented.

Herbs e.g. skull cap and passion flower can help us relax and receive the rest and sleep that we need. L-tyrosine is an essential amino acid often used to treat insomnia, depression and anxiety as well as helping to control appetite and elevate our mood. Melatonin and herbal formulas are available to us to provide the restful, restoring sleep we need in order to deal with anxiety and stress.

Aromatherapy which is the use of aromas from plant essential oils can be added to our baths, used in massage oils, or released into our living space with aromatherapy candles. As we inhale these aromas, they quickly reach our brain and help provide us with feelings of calm and relaxation. The aromatherapy essential oils that are most effective in easing stress and anxiety are bergamot, cypress, geranium, jasmine neroli, rose, sandalwood and ylang-ylang. Lavender is the most popular essential oil used to provide us with a feeling of calm and well being.

These are just a few of the all natural substances and formulas available to us to help keep our bodies healthy as we experience the stress and anxiety that accompanies our too often hectic and prolonged stressful life experiences. Other all natural formulas that increase the functioning of our brains in the areas of attention, concentration and performance are also available to us. Our bodies need extra help in dealing with stress and anxiety. Cognitively and emotionally we need breaks and periods of rest and release from stress and anxiety. The safest, non-addictive way to obtain the help we need for dealing with stress and anxiety is with all natural health care products that do not present the possibility of harmful side effects that actually increase stress and anxiety.

In this day and age of juggling work and family, people are under more stress than ever. What may be a temporary bump in the road for some, can be downright debilitating for others. When people refer to anxiety they are often referencing a “feeling” that they get under exorbitant amounts of stress. And we have all experienced what is considered to be anxiety at one time or another. Anxiety disorder, however, is something very different; a general term that medical professionals use to describe a variety of psychological conditions related to fear, anxiety, and phobias.

Most noticeable, anxiety disorder can interfere with everyday activities, getting in the way of work responsibilities, social activities, and personal relationships. Even the most commonplace activities – shopping, driving; even leaving the house – can seem insurmountable to those suffering from an anxiety disorder. The conditions associated with anxiety disorder are numerous and not everyone feels them acutely as others. But these conditions are considered to be a disorder if they are ongoing, irrational, and interfere with daily life.

People who suffer from anxiety in any capacity will report varied emotions when faced with situations that activate their fight or flight response. This feeling of heightened anxiety can also be described as fear – an emotion that the body reacts to by releasing adrenalin throughout the body. When we are not able to calm this reaction – when the fear or anxiety takes over – the adrenalin takes over as well and a host of physiological reactions ensue. Those with anxiety report increased heart rate, sweating, the inability to catch their breath, and paralyzing fear.

Thankfully, there are a number of excellent medications on the market today that have been designed to help people who suffer from anxiety. But in order to treat sufferers appropriately, it is necessary to determine the anxiety disorder subcategory from which the patient suffers.

Generalized anxiety disorder refers to ongoing and persistent fear and anxiety that comes and goes with no particular catalyst. A sufferer of generalized anxiety may feel a heightened state of awareness, fear, and worry most of the time – manifesting itself in a host of physical symptoms including body tension, sleep disorders, headaches, stomach ailments, and heart palpitations.

Panic disorder refers to episodes of anxiety generally provoked by one or several catalysts. The sufferer reacts to a particular stress by experiencing heightened anxiety and panic translated to often severe physical symptoms that sometimes include hyperventilation, dizziness, shaking, and incapacitating fear. Many new sufferers of panic disorder have confused the symptoms of the condition with those experienced during a heart attack.

Social anxiety is anxiety experienced in any social situation, rendering the sufferer incapable of being within groups of people without feeling embarrassed or scrutinized. Often the anxiety is so great that those suffering from this disorder avoid most social interaction.

Phobias also fall under the umbrella of anxiety and include agoraphobia – where sufferers limit their visitation to places because of their fear of anxiety surfacing; many agoraphobics have difficulty leaving their homes for this reason. Other phobias are included in this subcategory as well; in essence, a phobia is an irrational and ongoing fear of a particular place, situation, or object. Often, the fear is so great that people will avoid the catalyst altogether.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is anxiety that is manifested through compulsive behavior – activities that the sufferer can not help but complete. Such disorders vary in severity and circumstance; those who suffer most strongly experience very real feelings of dread if they do not complete certain repetitive, often ritualistic behaviors – checking locks, counting steps, etc. Often the OCD sufferer is completely aware of how irrational their behavior is but they are unable to stop doing it nonetheless.

There are many comprehensive medications on the market today that have made significant strides in managing and even eliminating many disorders of this kind. Those who live with an anxiety disorder no longer have to suffer at the hand of their irrational thoughts; with proper medical diagnosis, supervision, and pharmaceutical intervention if necessary, anxiety need no longer run the show.

As the world knows anxiety is a normal response to danger. Everyone has felt anxious for something at some point in their lives. There is however times when anxiety turns into something else, this being a mental condition known as anxiety disorders. People who have anxiety disorders are some times afraid to get treatment for their anxiety as they seem to feel ashamed of having a mental condition. However anxiety treatments are valid medical remedies for a complaint that can affect your life. There is therefore nothing to be ashamed of having anxiety disorders or being treated for them.

There are a variety of different treatment options available for those suffering with anxiety and panic disorders ranging from prescriptive medication to complimentary and alternative medicines. While these choices largely depend on individuals preference and specific needs, it is important to recognize that a treatment course which works well for a particular individual does not necessarily mean that it is the right course of treatment for another individual. Therefore, you should seek assistance from your doctor or psychiatric consultant in diagnosing the specific concerns or complaints so that you can embark on the right course of treatment for the anxiety and panic disorders.

You might want to ask your doctor what the normal anxiety treatments are and their side effects and you should also find out what their effect will be on your lifestyle as well. The alternative remedies may not be completely proven by medical science as anxiety treatments, but a number of people state that these alternative treatments do work at providing relief from anxiety symptoms.

Most conventional anxiety treatments involve either therapy or drug-based. Drug-based anxiety treatments, being the most common treatment for immediate relief, aim to eliminate the anxiety symptoms by changing body chemistry to lower the stress or anxiety levels. Even though Anti-depressants and tranquillizers such as Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), Beta-blockers, Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) and Buspirones can be fast-acting for providing relief for anxiety, they are not a viable treatment for the long run for reason that anxiety is a behavioural condition that is difficult, if not impossible, to be eliminated by using drugs.

Alternate anxiety treatments include the age old methods of Acupuncture and Ayurveda. Both of these eastern anxiety treatments bring the symptoms of anxiety back into control by rebalancing your bodys internal energies. These treatments use a number of essential oils, poultices, herbal remedies and sterilized acupuncture needles to achieve that effect. These alternative anxiety treatments not only control the effects of anxiety in your body they also have the ability to completely cure your anxiety disorder symptoms.

It is not uncommon that Gemstone therapy has been increasingly used for healing purposes for a number of complaints or even relaxation from stress. This therapy has also been adopted as an alternative treatment for controlling anxiety disorder. It focuses on rebalancing the body emotions and relieving the negative energies by absorbing the healing power of the gemstone which is placed on the specific area of the body. The healing effect is unique to different gemstones, each of which can be identified by its unique colour.

The choices of alternative therapies and anxiety management techniques are not only numerous, they can be very diverse in nature which extends from exposure therapy, relaxation techniques and supplements, self esteem therapy, cognitive therapy to anxiety education, attention training, nutrition, exercise, assertion and so forth. As long as the core anxiety can be addressed in a structured and supportive anxiety treatment course, full recovery is a certainty.

Anxiety affects people of all ages, from the teenage to the senior years. Although it can affect both sexes, it is more common in women though this may be because men are reluctant to report it to their doctors. In general, women are more open to expressing their feeling and sharing their emotions than men.

There are two types of anxiety, acute and chronic. Acute anxiety is commonly known as a “panic attack”, where the body’s response to an emergency is activated at an inappropriate time. Symptoms of a panic attack can include, but are not limited to, shortness of breath, claustrophobia, rapid heart beat, chest pain, dizziness, trembling, hot flashes or chills, nausea, and a sense of unreality. Over time, anxiety can have cumulative effects such as generalized aches and pains, muscle aches and twitching, sleeplessness, depression, loss of sex drive, and the inability to relax. Panic attacks are unpredictable and can occur at any time without warning and last for a few seconds up to a half hour; some people have them several times each day, while others experience them less frequently. Some people will have just one and will never have another. Many people think they are having a heart attack or stroke and some people are afraid of being alone or of being in public places for fear of having an attack. For years it was thought that there was no physical basis for anxiety but many experts feel that a malfunction in brain chemistry can cause it.

With chronic anxiety, people experience a vague sense of unease, feel as if something bad is about to happen, and tend to be jumpy and startle easily. The symptoms are not as pronounced as with acute anxiety but can still impact a person’s enjoyment of life. People with chronic anxiety go through life on pins and needles, wondering when their bubble will burst. They can be negative in their outlook on life as if this will prevent the worse from happening.

Some doctors recommend calcium and magnesium, B vitamins and herbs such as catnip, chamomile, kava, and valerian to promote relaxation. Sometimes antidepressants can be effective in treating the disorder but can have side effects or promote dependency. Relaxation techniques such as meditation, massage and listening to music can also help to ease the symptoms. Exercise is a great stress reliever and can lessen the impact of anxiety on one’s life.

(c) 2008 Hailey Harris

Various Symptoms/Signs Of Anxiety Disorder

In a medical terminology, anxiety disorder usually refers to a state of nervousness or uneasiness. Anxiety disorder is one of the most common mental health disorders. It is basically defined as a critical disturbance in the mental state that can ultimately lead to chronic anxiety. It usually arises due to work pressure, highly constrained work schedules which tend to disturb the mood or behavior of a person. However, if proper anxiety treatments are not followed well in time, it can even harm the mental state of a person.

A person suffering from anxiety disorder often experiences a long-drawn-out feeling of distress or fright and discomfortness. This disorder can further create a bad impact on relationships with friends, family and the colleagues.

Various Symptoms / Signs of Anxiety disorder:

So far researchers have conducted an in-depth study to determine the precise reason for anxiety disorders. Finally, they have concluded that this trouble mainly arises due to the biological factors along with various personal situations faced by an individual. This disorder not only affects the individual’s behavior, thoughts, action, emotions but also the physical health. It is so common that individual anxiety disorder can be seen. Moreover, an individual can suffer even more than one anxiety disorder at a time. Anxiety disorder is accompanied by a series of other troubles as well including depression, substance abuse or eating disorders.

Various symptoms/signs of anxiety disorder include:

Panic Disorder: Panic disorder is basically a type of anxiety disorder. Such a type of disorder is usually experienced in the unexpected panic attacks that come along with the feeling of fear. This attack can also affect the physical health of a person, thus resulting in breathing problems, severe pain in chest, heart strokes, and fear of death as well as acute pain in the abdomen.

Agoraphobia , with or without panic disorder: This is basically a condition in which a person fails to avoid or escape from a panic attack. OCD or Obsessive ‘Compulsive Disorder: This is an uncontrollable condition in which an individual suffers from constant unnecessary thoughts, commonly termed as obsessions and compulsions (or rituals). A typical instance of obsessions includes doubtful temperament, serious concerns regarding contamination and much more. The various instances of compulsions include counting, checking and the systematic organization of things.

PTSD or Post-Traumatic stress disorder: Post-traumatic disorder is usually the consequence of a horrible or a terrific experience that might have took place in one’s life. Most often the victims of war, natural disaster or child abduction may experience this stress disorder. The general symptoms of PTSD include nightmares, rudeness in temperament, feelings of fear as well as frustrations.

Phobias:

Such an anxiety disorder is usually categorized into two groups:

Social Phobia: It is also sometimes termed as social anxiety disorder, in which a person fears to deal with social situations. Not only this, but he may also feel conscious & embarrassed to deal with gatherings and also fails to lead a normal life.

Specific Phobia: In this type of anxiety disorder, a person is often beset with unreasonable fears that are quite impossible to control. The extreme stage of specific phobia is one when a person designates his fear as illogical one. The typical instances include terror of heights, open spaces as well as the fear of flying.

GAD: An acronym GAD stands for Generalized Anxiety disorder. The general symptoms include headache, loss of fatigue & nausea. The exaggerated worries related to daily routine activities & events disorder are the main reason behind this type of anxiety disorder.

Anxiety symptoms can help you determine if you have anxiety to be able to make preventive measures.

Every time we feel worried about certain things or fear about the possibilities of what might happen if, a lot of ifs- these are what we call anxiety. Anxiety is a brief, persistent, and extreme feeling of worry, uncertainties, and fear over a tense situation, and fortunately, it is controllable. As a matter of fact, anxiety is reversible, and can be successfully treated naturally if found out through the anxiety symptoms. An anxiety condition is not an accidental, unidentified, and uncontrollable illness, even if it feels like it is. Anxiety conditions come out for precise reasons and have specific reasons and underlying explanations why they continue.

To be able to know if you have anxiety, you should know first the symptoms. Here is some of the anxiety symptoms associated with anxiety disorders. And since each individual has different chemical composition, anxiety symptoms and their intensity may vary from person to person. The anxiety symptoms we may experience physically are:

Body:

-Burning skin sensation

-Persistent fatigue

-Electric shock feeling

-Excess of energy, you feel you can’t relax

-Feel like you are going to faint

-Feeling cold

-Hyperactivity

-Increased or decreased sex drive

-Muscle twitching

-Tightness or stiffness of shoulder, back, and neck

-Numbness or tingling in hands, feet, face, head, or any other parts of your body

-Persistent muscle tension

-Jumpy

-Too much sweating

-Trembling, shaking

-Urgency to urinate, frequent urination

-Weak legs, arms, muscles

Chest:

-Chest pain or discomfort, tight chest, or tight chest muscles

-Concern about the heart

-Fell like you have difficulty breathing

-Shortness of breath

-Frequent yawning to try to catch your breath

-Palpitations

-Irregular heart rhythms, flutters or skipped beats, tickle in the chest that makes you cough

Head:

-Dizziness or light-headedness

-Frequent headaches, migraine headaches

-Head, neck, or shoulder tightness or stiffness

-Overexcitement

-Shooting pains in the face, scalp, or head,

-Sore jaw that feels like a toothache

-Clenching of the jaw or grinding of the teeth

Emotions:

-Dramatic mood swings

-Emotional blunting

-Wrong feeling of emotions

-Frequently feel like crying for no reason

Mind:

-Fear of going crazy, losing control, fear of impending doom

-Frequent feeling of being overwhelmed, or that there is too much to handle or do

-Having difficulty concentrating

-Racing thoughts or rapid thinking

-Obsession about sensations or getting better

-You feel like you are carrying the world on your shoulders

Hearing:

-Irregular or frequent reduced hearing or deafness in one or both ears

-Low rumbling sounds

-Ringing in the ears

Mood:

-Irritable

-Depression

-Feeling like things is not real or dreamlike

-Have no feeling about the things you used to

-Feel like you are pressured all the time

Sight:

-Distorted, foggy, or blurred vision

-Itchy, dry, or watery eyes

-Eye tricks, seeing things on the corners of your eyes that aren’t there, stars, flashes

-Eyes’ sensitivity to light

-Spots in the vision,

-Flashing lights when eyes closed

-Deep perception feels wrong

Mouth/Stomach

-Constant craving for sweets

-Chocking or difficulty swallowing

-Constipation or diarrhea

-Dry mouth

-Feeling like your tongue is swollen

-Frequent upset stomach, bloating, gaseous

-Lack of appetite or taste -Nausea or the thought of eating makes you nauseous

-Tight throat, lump in throat

Sleep:

-Difficulty falling or staying asleep

-Frequent bad, odd, or crazy dreams

-Hearing sounds in your head that can awaken you

-Insomnia or waking up ill in the middle of the night

-Waking up in a panic attack

-Feeling worse in the mornings

These are some of the prevalent anxiety symptoms, but the symptoms on the list are incomplete and not limited as to what is listed above. It is common for normal people to experience or two of anxiety symptoms, and some may experience them all.

Anxiety and depression are familiar conditions to us, but are also among the most serious illnesses in the world.

There are times when we feel anxious and moody. So what? We all go through the same things from time to time, don’t we? Anxiety and depression are normal part of life. Who has not studied for an exam without having test anxiety, and then scored much higher for it? Anxiety can keep us alert. Depression, on the other hand, can slow us down, giving us time to reflect and recollect ourselves. In other words, anxiety and depression express moods that are familiar to everybody.

But, when anxiety and depression seem to come from nowhere, last for weeks without relief, and get in the way of everyday activities, then we are not talking ordinary moods anymore; they are now illnesses. Anxiety and depressions are one of the most common mental illnesses in the world today.

People with anxiety disorder may have several physical symptoms, like trembling, sweating, muscle aches, nausea, fatigue, palpitation, dry mouth, cold and clammy hands. Emotionally, they are apprehensive, irritable; they have the feeling of impending doom, and they are self-conscious- feeling like being watched and criticized, etc. Obviously, people with anxiety disorder are often left immobilized. Anxiety keeps them house-bound, away from people, not able to do normal and simple for fear of this or that. People experiencing anxiety symptoms should know that it is a common disorder and is very curable. The anxiety symptoms that you may experience include:

Palpitations

Increased sweating

Shaking

Shortness of breath

Chest pain

Nausea or stomach discomfort

Feeling of light-headedness

A feeling of unreality

Feeling of being detached from oneself

Fear of losing control or going crazy

Fear of dying

Feeling of impending doom

Depression, on the other hand, is a serious medical condition that affects the body, mood, and thoughts. It affects the way a person eats and sleeps, one’s self concept, and the way one thinks about things. A depressive disorder is not the same as passing blue mood. It is not an indication of personal weakness or a state that can be willed or wished away. A person with depressive disorder usually can’t pull themselves together and get better. Without treatment, symptoms can last for weeks to years. The treatment involves medications and/or temporary psychotherapy, which can be more helpful with depression sufferer. The symptoms of depressions may include:

Persistent sad, anxious, or empty mood

Feelings of hopelessness, pessimism

Loss of interest in hobbies or activities that were once enjoyed, including sex

Guilty feelings, worthlessness, helplessness

Decreased energy, fatigue

Difficulty concentrating, remembering, making decisions

Appetite and/or weight changes

Trouble sleeping or oversleeping, early morning awakening

Thoughts of death or suicide, or suicide attempts

Restlessness and irritability

Persistent physical symptoms such as headaches, digestive disorders, and chronic pain that does not respond to routine treatment.

Anxiety and depression are two different conditions, but they are the same in the sense of the intensity of how serious these conditions can be. They are among the most common and most treatable mental illnesses in the world.