Just the Facts About Anxiety Attacks

November 14, 2009 by admin  
Filed under Health




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.



How To Find Effective Anxiety Disorder Treatments

September 2, 2009 by admin  
Filed under Health

Anxiety disorders are suffered by more than forty million Americans. Examples of these disorders are panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, social anxiety disorder, phobias, and generalized anxiety disorders. Many of these disorders are debilitating to the sufferers, interfering with both their personal and professional lives. Thankfully, there are many anxiety treatments out there.

If you think that you suffer from an anxiety disorder, the first person you should see is your family doctor. Tests are necessary to make sure that there isn’t another medical condition responsible for the symptoms. Once it’s determined that the symptoms are the result of an anxiety disorder, the next step is to seek out a mental health professional.

Anxiety treatment can include medications. While medications are not enough to cure anxiety disorders, they can help the sufferer deal with the symptoms. Antidepressants alter the chemistry of the brain. Most begin to work on some indicators of anxiety disorder immediately; however, it can take up to six weeks for the full effects to be felt.

SSRIs, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, are also antidepressants. They help brain cells communicate with each other by increasing the amount of serotonin in the brain. Serotonin is involved in the regulation of learning, sleep, and moods. They have been shown to be very effective in anxiety treatment. Beta-blockers, usually used to treat heart conditions, can also be prescribed for anxiety treatment. They can help prevent the physical conditions which accompany most anxiety disorders.

Medications are used to help control the signs of anxiety disorders while the patient receives psychotherapy. Cognitive-behavioral therapy, or CBT, helps anxiety disorder sufferers change the way they think and how they react to anxiety-inducing situations. For example, a person with OCD who is anxious about germs and ritualistically washes his or her hands many times a day is taught to wait for longer periods of time in between such activities.

Those with other phobias or disorders learn how to face their fears through this anxiety treatment. The CBT therapist accompanies the anxiety disorder patient through role-playing to actual encounters. CBT therapists also teach relaxation techniques such as deep breathing.

CBT only works when the anxiety disorder sufferer is ready to undertake the challenge of facing his or her fears. It must be specific to their individual anxiety disorder. This anxiety treatment usually lasts about three months. It may incorporate group therapy.

Anxiety treatment is often more effective when it includes support groups. These groups may include resources from the internet or your local member of the clergy. These should not be a replacement for a certified therapist.

Exercise can be a great addition to anxiety treatments. It boosts the brain’s natural creation of serotonin. Meditation has also been found to enhance anxiety treatments, as it helps calm the physical symptoms of anxiety disorder.

Finally, family is a very important factor in anxiety treatment. Families should never trivialize the disorder of the sufferer. They can offer support but need to be careful not to enable the anxiety disorder patient.

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All About Anxiety Attacks

June 10, 2009 by admin  
Filed under Health




Anxiety attacks can happen anytime, anywhere when you least expect it.

Anxiety is what we always feel when we are in a tense situation, like studying harder for a major exam, rendering a speech in front of many people, or going on a blind date where you don’t know what to expect; even a bride definitely feel anxious on her wedding day (maybe thinking, what if she’ll be stood up by her groom! What a terrifying thought!). If you feel anxious or fear for certain circumstances or things and with logical reasons to be, it is just a normal and rational response. But, if you feel unexpected surges of overwhelming dread that comes without warning and for no reason at all, it is no longer regular anxiety but anxiety attack.

Anxiety attacks are far more intense than having the feeling of being stressed or anxious that most people experience. It is described as a sudden attack of intense fear or feelings of impending fate or disaster that strike without warning and for no apparent reason. And this can be immediately followed by several symptoms. These are caused by a shift in the way the Amygdala, the small organ in the brain which regulates the anxiety response, behaves when confronted with an anxiety provoking thought, sensation or situation. Anxiety attacks occur when a level of anxiety is reached which causes the Adrenalin to produce severe symptoms which reach a peak in just a matter of minutes. The peak of an attack can range anywhere from 5 to 30minutes, but the symptoms may last a little longer. The symptoms of anxiety attacks are completely harmless, although they can be very frightening. Anxiety attacks belong to a group of anxiety disorder, like panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and agoraphobia.

Some of the symptoms of anxiety attack are intense heartbeat, difficulty of breathing, palpitation, nausea, excessive sweating and trembling, chest pains, fearful of going crazy or about to die, sudden chills, and the like. Some people may experience different or more anxiety attack symptoms but this does not mean that their condition is far worse or that you are suffering from different undiagnosed condition. And because we are all different, the symptoms during anxiety attacks can vastly vary. You might not find among the listed anxiety attack symptoms what you are experiencing and you’ll start to think there’s something very wrong with you. The list is just a guide only. Everyone reacts differently.

Anxiety attacks are always a sign of underlying anxiety disorder which itself can be treated successfully with or without having to go through medication or costly therapy. Linden Method offers a cure on panic and anxiety attacks. According to this method, anxiety attacks are not a sign of illness. The way to cure it is to eliminate the causes that trigger anxiety attacks.



The Signs of an Anxiety Attack

May 19, 2009 by admin  
Filed under Health




Anxiety attack symptoms are what we typically experience if we feel sudden danger is going to happen.

Anxiety attack can be a very terrifying experience. It is a period of sudden and intense fear or discomfort, typically with an abrupt onset and usually lasting for no more than 10 minutes. Sometimes a person can experience a panic attack all of a sudden without particular reason. Most people that experience one attack will usually experience another attack, and those who have recurring attacks, or feel severe anxiety about having another are said to have panic disorder.

Various individuals report different symptoms during an anxiety attack. Some of the common anxiety attack symptoms are:

Palpitations, a pounding of heart, or an accelerated heart rate

Increased sweating

Trembling or shaking

Shortness of breath

Chest pain or discomfort

Nausea or stomach discomfort

A feeling light-headedness, or faint

A feeling of unreality

Depersonalization or a feeling of being detached from oneself

Fear of losing control or going crazy

Fear of dying

Numbness, or a tingling sensation

Chills

Feeling of impending doom

These are some of the possible anxiety attack symptoms. A normal person may experience one or more of these symptoms from time to time. Having to experience some of these anxiety attack symptoms is considered normal if you have reasonable explanations for them. But if you are experiencing them with no apparent reasons, it can be a sign of a more serious condition.

A person with phobia will usually experience an anxiety attack as a direct result of exposure to the things that trigger the phobia. These anxiety attacks are short- lived and quickly relieved once the trigger is escaped.

Usually an anxiety attack begins with an unusual bodily sensation from the anxiety attack symptoms. A person having an anxiety attack will then react, with fear that the symptoms are indicators of a much more serious threat and in turn reacts with more fear which intensified into a state of intense anxiety and panic. Cases of the possible situations where anxiety attack can occur are: when driving, on an airplane, crowded areas, or during sleep at night. Sometimes anxiety attack occurs in a situation where the person cannot exit easily from a social gathering, or in a meeting, but others may experience an incident of anxiety for no reason while in comfortable place or even in sleep. Anxiety attack symptoms are more or less the same feelings we might experience if we feel danger is about to happen. They are signs of how we usually react if we are triggered by fear, worry, and concern. But, chill out! Fortunately, anxiety attack is not an illness.