1. Symptoms of Anxiety

Anxiety attacks and panic attacks often can go hand in hand, and if they or something like them has happened to you recently and you didn’t know what it was, here is a quick run down of what some of the symptoms are.

Anxiety attacks manifest themselves in three different ways. Externally visible symptoms where the bodily functions show a reaction can include cold sweats, shaking, trembling, pale skin and wide open eyes. Behaviour can change to both voluntary or involuntary actions all directed at escaping or avoiding the source of the anxiety.

Finally, the most obvious signs to the person with the anxiety attack is the emotions it stirs. This can include an overwhelming sense of panic or fear, nausea, chills as well as hyperventilation and light headedness.

Hyper ventilation incidentally is the shortness of breath that happens when we panic and inhale too much oxygen. This leads to feeling disoriented, light headed and if you don’t know what is happening, it can accelerate the anxiety to the point where we can end up passing out.

2. Managing the onset of anxiety

There are several things you can do to calm yourself down if you feel the anxiety rising. For instance if you are experiencing shortness of breath and feel that it may be a symptom of a panic attack you can cup your hands and place them over your nose and mouth while at the same time concentrating on taking long, slow, breaths of air, as controlled as possible.

Breathing is a great way to manage your levels of anxiety, because the body’s stress responses are influenced by how we are breathing. Slow, calm breathing for instance will reduce the presence of this fight or flight response because your instincts assume that the danger is over if you can breath that slowly again.

Also, if you tell yourself that this is not a natural reaction and that it will go away, that should help too. You can help yourself further if you have a “happy place” or something else to focus on while you concentrate on calming your breathing down and talk calmly to yourself.

3. Focus on something else

Although anxiety disorders are not completely curable, advances in medication and therapy, not to mention public awareness, have helped to ensure that people are still able to successfully function in society, despite their problem. But it is also important to realize that like all problems there are solutions to all anxiety disorders.

If you are a panic attack sufferer, take heart. There are ways to get around the symptoms you are feeling, and there are people out there who are willing to help you, if you just look. The anxiety you feel during a panic attack will eventually go away after a while, even though it may not feel like that at the time. It’s just a matter of learning to take control of your mind, or your body.

One of the things that you can do to take control over your anxiety is to occupy your mind with things that make the anxiety go away or reduce. It is far better for you to focus on something that you experience as a positive as it can help you deal with the onset of any anxiety much better.

Anxiety and related panic disorders affects almost 20 million Americans every year; many of the people you deal with each day suffer from panic attacks in the privacy of their own homes, but can you tell? Probably not. The environment around you is proof evident that many people in the world have panic attacks, but they have their problem under control enough to where they are able to lead perfectly normal existences.

Anxiety is something we all feel on an every day basis in life, this may be because of finances, work, relationships; it may be just be thinking about arriving on time for an event or social outing.

Most people can easily manage the anxiety they feel in one way or another but not every one finds it easy, there is a small percentage of the population that suffer with anxiety on a higher level, this group suffer with a larger amount of anxiety and find it difficult to manage the anxiety they feel.

For those who suffer with a larger amount of anxiety they normally feel a mix of both mental and physical affects, these affects manifest themselves in emotions such as fear, apprehension, worry and in some cases embarrassment, and physical effects such as chest pain, loss of breath, heart palpitations, trembling and in some cases nausea.

Anxiety can be categorized by the symptoms a person feels, there is three categories in total, which are

• Generalized anxiety disorder – the most common of the three categories and is caused by over anxious about feelings from daily life.
• Phobia disorder – the feeling of anxiety due to social interaction, this normally comes in the form of an overwhelming feeling that people are watching your every move and judging you as a person.
• Panic disorder – short bursts of heightened anxiety make up a panic disorder, the amount of anxiety is so high that it causes the sufferer to feel like they may die.

In a lot of cases the sufferer will not actually know what is causing the anxiety to take over, this is because the initial reason why anxiety started is not the reason why it is still apparent later on. The reason why the anxiety changes is because anxiety breeds more anxiety, this means that if you take away the anxiety a person feels there may not actually be a reason behind it.

To combat anxiety a person who has been to see a medical professional may see himself or herself prescribed the same medication that a person suffering with depression would have. If the medication does not manage to control the anxiety then alternative treatments like meditation or breathing exercises can help to relax the body. In extreme cases counseling can help to reduce the feelings of anxiety although this can actually increase a persons feelings of anxiety initially.

One method of self-treatment that a number of anxiety sufferer’s use is alcohol. While alcohol is good at alleviating the anxiety a person it feels, its affects are only short lived and alcohol is also a natural depressant.

Anxiety is something we all have to deal with on a daily basis, the only issue is some people have to deal with anxiety more than others due to the life they lead. To make sure you do not end up having anxiety rule your life then it can help to start a hobby that can take your mind off the stresses of everyday life and give you time to relax.

The Definition Of Anxiety

Strictly by definition, anxiety refers to a combination of negative emotions includingapprehension and fear. Anxiety can lead to physical symptoms such as nausea, trembling, chills, pale skin, chest pains and a shortness of breath. While everyone becomes anxious at some point in their life (or even their daily routine) many people also suffer from anxiety disorders, where the conditions are chronic rather than just occasional bouts due to stress.

What causes anxiety, both in everyday life and in the case of anxiety disorder?

Stress leads to anxiety—a fear of something to come, something that has already happened or is happening that one has no control over. Anytime a person becomes afraid, for his or her own security or that a loved one, this can lead to tremendous anxiety. Emotional and physical dangers are constant in life and so one is rightfully concerned with the welfare of the family. Anxiety can also be caused by apprehension, or other forms of general uneasiness with an unfamiliar situation. Many people are afraid to speak in front of crowds or to be the center of attention in any way. Oddly enough, polls consistently show that more people are afraid of speaking in front of a large group than they are of dying.

Anxiety disorders, the chronic condition of anxiety, is caused by other physical conditions. It may be genetic or it may be caused by some form of past trauma. There are a few types of anxiety disorders including general anxiety, panic attack disorder, social anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, post traumatic stress disorder and various types of phobias, or specific fears.

Stress is just a part of life, and so people who suffer from occasional bouts of stress choose to live with the anxiety attacks without treatment and better organize their life to handle unexpected setbacks. However, sometimes living with the anxiety is simply not an option. Some people are constantly surrounded by negative emotions, whether they are caretakers of a mentally ill family member or have had some other form of trauma affect them. Some forms of trauma may even be recurring, thus forcing the sufferer to seek some kind of treatment to cope with the anxiety or perhaps even the anxiety disorder.

Medication is one frequent solution. Valium is one kind of anti-anxiety medication, along with other drugs such as Klonopin and Xanax which are based on Valium’s scientific formula. However, these drugs have shown the possibility—though not always the consistency—that they are addictive in nature.

There is also the option of psychotherapy to treat such disorders. Although it can be argued that psychotherapy is “addictive” in that the patient needs constant attention to treat the problem, it can be a far healthier solution than taking potentially addictive medication.

There are also alternative forms of treatment such as herbal supplements, self-help and relaxation techniques. What is important is that a chronic sufferer of anxiety seek treatment rather than live in constant mental duress.

Professional treatment is recommended for extreme cases of general anxiety disorder. After a diagnosis, then either traditional medication is recommended or cognitive behavioral therapy. Many people prefer psychotherapy instead of medication, though a chemical imbalance with symptoms of intense stress would merit medication, or maybe both forms of treatment.

As stated, children can also develop this anxiety disorder. It might be a mistake to assume that medication is the only way to treat this disorder. This might either scare parents away from treatment or make them push their child to take potentially addictive drugs at a young age. Talk to a pediatrician about psychotherapy for generalized anxiety disorder in children before assuming the worst and not getting the help your child need.

Adults should likewise be careful not minimize the danger of general anxiety disorder. Stress kills and so chronic anxiety can only make things worse as you grow older. Confronting the source of the anxiety is an effective treatment and should not be dismissed for an fast but temporary fix.

Anxiety

People, especially women with high levels of nervousness, worry and nervous tension need to find more effective ways to deal with the stresses and pressures that they face each day. Although many women have a healthy emotional balance, they can become overwhelmed if their anxiety responses are triggered very easily.

These stresses can vary. Taking a ride in an elevator, going to the dentist or being in a crowded area can trigger certain stresses making the individual become extremely anxious, frightened or upset.

A person who is already feeling anxious and tense will find certain life changes such as divorce, losing a job, financial problems, death of a loved one will probably find it impossible to cope.

An inability to cope with stress can cause damage to an individual’s self esteem and confidence. As a person’s inability to cope with usual day to day activities can have a diminishing effect on self worth.

Even if the stresses in one’s life do not alter too much, a person’s ability to deal with them makes a huge difference.

All of us experience some sort of anxiety from time to time. It is our natural response to a situation that we find stressful. For some of us, some level of stress can improve our performance.

However, some of us find that experiencing severe anxiety on a day-to-day basis can interfere with life. This is a condition known as anxiety disorder and treatment usually involves psychotherapy and counselling, often alongside some form of medication.

For those who feel they have not yet suffered with anxiety, it is a feeling of unease. The vast majority of us experience some form of anxiety when we are faced with a particular stressful event or situation. For example, those jitters that we feel before a job interview or an important exam. We may experience these unpleasant feelings when we are worry about our finances or we have a family member suffering from an illness.

Of course it is perfectly normal to experience some degree of anxiety when we face a particularly difficult situation but one in ten UK people find that anxiety interferes with their normal everyday life. Acute anxiety may be linked to other psychiatric conditions, for example, depression. Anxiety is not considered normal when:

* it absence even when there is no stressful event

* it interferes with normal everyday activities such as socialising and work

* it is considered severe and prolonged

Symptoms of anxiety are triggered by the brain, which sends messages to different areas of the body in preparation for the ‘fight or flight’ response. Certain organs in the body such as the lungs and heart work faster, whilst the brain releases an increased amount of stress hormones such as adrenaline.

As a result, certain physical symptoms can occur such as:

• Diarrhoea
• Abdominal pain or discomfort.
• Increased/rapid heartbeat and/or palpitations
• Pain and tightness in the chest
• Dizziness
• Shortness of breath
• Dry mouth
• Swallowing difficulties
• More frequent urination
• Dizziness
• In addition to physical symptoms, there are also psychological symptoms, which can include:
• Inability to sleep (insomnia)
• Anger and irritability
• Inability to maintain concentration
• Not feeling like one can control their actions (depersonalisation)
• Feeling unreal
• A fear of madness

A person’s emotional and physical reactions towards stress are determined by the sympathetic nervous system with produces the fight or flight reaction in response to excitement and stress. This speeds up the pulse rate, muscle tension, respiration, circulation of the blood and glandular function.

Those people who have recurrent anxiety and nervous symptoms coupled with emotional problems often have an overreaction within the sympathetic system. Those who have a particularly stressful life find that their sympathetic nervous system is more poised to react to a crisis putting an individual in a state of permanent tension.

Because a person in this state, they tend to react to smaller stresses in a similar way to how they would react in real emergencies.

In order to bring the body back into its balance, the energy that accumulates in the body to meet the ‘emergency’ must be discharged.

Energy reserves can be depleted by repeated episodes of the above mentioned fight or flight reaction. A continuance of this will create a downward spiral, which will lead to an emotional burnout and complete exhaustion. By learning how to manage stress where energy levels are protected if not increased, this spiral can be broken.

There are a number of techniques which can be used for relaxation and coping with stress more effectively. Many people also notice an improvement in their physical health.

One recommended exercise requires an individual to sit quietly and engage in an activity that is simple and repetitive. This allows one to empty the mind and provide it with rest. Another is mediation, which allows one to reach a state of deep relaxation. This is healing for the whole body. Physical functions such as the metabolism, blood pressure and heart rate slow right down. The waves in the brain also slow down to a level that is present during deep relaxation, just before sleep. One can relieve anxiety by practising these techniques regularly.

There are different types of anxiety disorders. They are often associated with a physical condition such as a thyroid disorder. The anxiety usually improves when the physical illness is treated. Anxiety is also the main symptoms of mental illnesses, which are known as anxiety disorders. It is very often the symptom of a further mental health problem for example depression, alcohol misuse, personality disorder or a withdrawal from a long-term use of tranquillisers.

Some sufferers experience what is known as ‘acute stress reaction’ where the symptoms develop quicker following the event. This reaction type occurs usually following an unexpected event such as bereavement. For some, this reaction may occur before the event, for example an exam. This is known as situational anxiety and the symptoms usually disappear fairly quickly and no treatment is required.