Get to Know Anxiety and Panic

Ever experienced one or more of these feelings, some of which have become habits that are hard to beat?

1. A feeling that you might have forgotten to turn off an appliance before leaving the house.

2. A feeling that you might have left something behind on the last place youve been.

3. The bothersome thought that you might have annoyed someone whom is the least person you want to displease.

These feelings can bring about a panic attack or anxiety state in a person. All of us have experienced low level anxiety one way or the other,such as a delay in plane departure times etc. These experiences make us all familiar with what anxiety is. There could be some facts about anxiety we may not be familiar or aware of.

Simply put,an anxiety state is the feeling of uneasiness, discomfort, or fear of what may eventually happen resulting from perceived, real, or imagined threat or condition. Panic attacks, on the other hand, are actually a heightened form of anxiety disorder.

Two distinct symptoms become obvious during a panic or anxiety attack: physical and emotional.

Physical Symptoms include:

Difficulty in breathing
Loss of energy or fatigue
Cold or sweaty hands
Shaking or trembling body parts
Rapid heartbeat
Restlessness
Body pains or aches
Insomnia

Emotional Symptoms include:

Irritability
Excessive worrying or fear
Inability to focus on the task at hand
Frequent feelings of sadness
Feeling edgy
Disturbed composure

Given the choice, we would rather avoid facing an impending threat or undesirable situation we foresee. However, if we are often left with no other option but to face the circumstances.

Just the thought of speaking in front of an audience may bring about anxiety. The worst scenario that could happen is getting tongue-tied and this could bring about a panic attack. Its a mixed feeling of positive and slightly negative anxiety. Before the speech, nervousness engulfs the speaker. After the speech, the feeling of relief is immediate.

However, panic attack is a more serious concern. It can sometimes result to blurred vision, dizziness, and a tight chest that leads to difficulty in breathing. One might misinterpret this as a stroke.

The thought of having a stroke might make the anxiety-prone person think that he has a life threatening condition; thereby aggravating the situation.The feeling of anxiety is actually a defensive inherent feeling that protects us from possible danger. Its a protective shield or response that does not harm us physically.

What Transpires During a Panic Attack

What we usually perceive as a possible threat or danger brought about by a panic attack actually starts from the brain. From the brain, signals are sent to the nervous system of our body. It is the nervous system that is responsible in preparing our body to face or to escape the threat.

It is also responsible in returning our body to its original state of equilibrium or tranquility once the threat has gone away or has subsided.In layman terms, there is this independent region of the nervous system responsible for the rise and fall of our nervous feeling.

This rise in feeling is responsible in preparing our body to face or to flee the danger. The fall in feeling or subsiding feeling works to restore balance and equilibrium, bringing our body back to its normal state.

In a situation where you feel stressed, the rising feel goes to work. After the speech, the subsiding feel is responsible for the bodys equilibrium. The rising feel is the controversial section of the nervous system which starts the anxiety (or possibly panic attack), while the subsiding feel is the one that brings our body to its original comfortable state.

You might ask: Exactly what part of our body is activated during a panic attack? In medical terms, just above the kidney are the adrenal glands that release adrenaline (a hormone) when we are in a state of anxiety. The adrenaline is responsible in keeping our anxiety going.

Remember that anxiety within controllable levels is here to protect and not to harm, which is why a continued anxious feeling can be beneficial to the body. Once the excitement is done with, the subsiding feel takes over to return our body to relaxed and non stressed mode.

What can we do to control anxiety to a tolerable level? We can engage in some coping techniques or strategies to diffuse or control anxiety. Coping techniques are actually a means of activating the subsiding feel even before the perceived danger is over.

Whether we will it or not, this feeling will be called into action at one point or another as the body cannot continue to stay in an ever increasing state of anxiety. To sum up what we have discussed so far, anxiety or panic attacks are actually products of our mind; and to a certain extent, they are due to body chemistry.