Anxiety Attacks
Anxiety attacks seem to occur out of nowhere for some. Sometimes they are brought about by an obvious trigger, and at other times, there seems to be no particular reason standing behind the attack. However scary they might seem at the time, anxiety attacks are simply our body's way of telling us that there is a threat, and we need to exit the situation as soon as possible. This has a lot to do with our body's built in natural fight-or-flight response system. It just seems to go off at the wrong times. Anxiety attacks often spur off from a threat that is either partially real or imagined. Most of the time, it is an imagined threat that is completely irrational, and has no place in reality.
Anxiety attacks symptoms include a racing heart beat, sweating, shaking, nervousness; fear that one is going to die at any second, a sense of horror, nausea, uncontrolled dizziness, and weakness. For certain people, an anxiety attack can make them feel like they are losing control or are going crazy. A swarm of unwanted thoughts seem to overcome them, and they tend to have no control at the moment over those thoughts. There are oftentimes when very slight dizzy spells can turn into a full blown anxiety attack. Some of the most reported anxiety attacks are when people have been shopping inside of a store and are standing in line.
Some of the usual causes of panic attacks include the following:
1. Too much caffeine and nicotine. These act as powerful stimulants which can heightened symptoms such as fast breathing, tingling and numbing, racing heartbeat, and chest tightness.
2. Family history. Sometimes this problem tends to run in families. For example, if your mother or father was a sufferer of anxiety attacks, then you are more than likely to become one as well. But this does not mean that everyone with a family history of panic and anxiety will develop symptoms.
3. Labyrinthitis. Disturbances of the inner ear can often bring about the symptoms of an anxiety attack in certain individuals.
4. Starting or stopping certain medications. If you are beginning an SSRI or are stopping usage of that and other medications, then you may experience feelings of anxiety.
5. "What-if" thinking. If someone normally possesses a way of negative thinking, then they are more than likely to become candidates for developing anxiety and panic attacks. When their thoughts or ideas are threatened, it can cause them to swing into anxiety and panic mode.
They are indeed very frightening, but the most intense anxiety only occurs within the first 10 minutes of the attack. For the majority of individuals, a typical attack only lasts no more than 10 minutes at a time. Some people can have them for up to 10 minutes longer, while some people only experience feelings of panic and anxiety for as little as 15 seconds. It is different for everyone. Keep in mind that they are not dangerous. Getting control over them is the hardest part. Typically, people will have one anxiety attack after another in fear that they are going to have to go through the horrible experience again. This is usually what begins an ongoing vicious cycle of attacks.
The only way to help eliminate anxiety attacks is to obtain proper knowledge of what they are. We will not be able to fight something that we do not understand or know nothing about. In order to stop the attacks, we must embrace them. If you already know what they do to you when they strike, then chances are that your symptoms will not become any more worse than what they already have. It is all about breaking the cycle. The only way to do this is to stop having fear that you are going to have another one. In time, you will notice that they are striking less and less, and that they are becoming less severe in nature. Always keep in mind that they are harmless, and that you can take control over them if you make the conscious effort to do so.
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