Anxiety can be a slight uneasiness of losing control or something bad happening or it can be a full blown attack where your heart palpitates, you´re are disoriented and you experience extreme terror.
What is anxiety anyway? Anxiety is not fear and you can distinguish between the two feelings by looking towards the source of your uneasiness. Fear is usually directed towards something concrete, the man in the dark alley following you, the shark lurking in the water or the 9:00 am meeting with your boss. The external object or situation is real and whatever you fear is within the realm of possibility.
Anxiety on the other hand, is an unspecified anxiousness. You can´t identify or explain what you are worried about. Rather than an external object, the source of your anxiousness is inside you.
Anxiety can rear its head in many ways, it can be a slight uneasiness of losing control or something bad happening or it can be a full blown attack where your heart palpitates, you´re are disoriented and you experience extreme terror. Many people who have panic attacks think they are having heart attacks because the feeling is so intense.
Here are some of the symptoms sufferers will experience:
• Problems breathing
• Rapid or irregular heartbeat
• Chest pain
• Sweating
• Choking
• Shaking
• Numbness
• Nausea
• Disorientation
• Hot flashes or chills
• Fear of dying
• Fear of going crazy
• Feeling detached from your body
If you experience four or more of the above symptoms in abrupt conjunction, reach a heightened level of fear or discomfort and then back away from that feeling, then you´ve probably had a panic attack. They can be pretty frightening and disruptive to your life. The worst part is they can often arise without notice and totally out of the blue.
The American Psychiatric Association´s definition of a panic attack requires a discrete or limited period of heightened fear and then a return to normal. It is possible for the attack to be so overwhelming that you cannot effectively communicate what is happening to you.
The suddenness and unexpectedness with which panic can come on often lead to even greater anxiety about panic attacks. Situational anxiety is fear that arises in response to a specific situation. We´ve all experienced it….. Possible examples of situational anxiety may include confronting your spouse, going to the dentist, driving and public speaking.
Situational anxiety usually quickly departs once the anxiety producing event has passed. For some, this type of anxiety actually helps to improve their performance because they prepare more, practice harder etc. However, for many, these feelings can be upsetting and scary. Once you take these fears and transform them into avoidance of the situations you fear that is when your fear has crossed over into a phobia.
Situational anxiety can lead to an anxiety disorder but it doesn´t have to and it is not the same as a panic attack. The attack is much more intense and will actually prevent any kind of performance or action you were going to perform. It is much more physically frightening and much more emotionally debilitating to the point where avoidance seems the only solution.
It´s important to remember that some anxiety is both normal and reasonable in many situations. As we live our lives we face challenges, potential failure and loss. All of these experiences can produce anxiety which is perfectly normal and expected.
Anxiety and Stress – A Risk of Heart Attack?
Anxiety and stress are known to make a patient get a feeling like heart attack due to rapid pulse and shortness of breath. According to a study it is suggested that shortness of breath or rapid pulse experienced due to stress may evoke a feeling similar to heart attack and even result in serious heart troubles in the long run.
Agoraphobia – Is a Treatment Possible in Worst Cases?
For most sufferers, Agoraphobia is like a living hell. They give up all hope due to the intensity of the symptoms they experience. When treated from an early stage, Agoraphobia can be cured easily. However, since a lot of people are unable to recognize the symptoms, they reach a stage where the condition becomes worse and they tend to fear whether or not cure is possible.
Social Phobia - How to Effectively Use Exposure Therapy to Combat Your Phobias!
Dealing with phobias can be troubling! These little fears can cause big reactions, leading to extreme anxiety, panic attacks and total avoidance of particular people, places, things and activities. Common phobias include fear of flying, fear of driving, fear of animals such as dogs and fear of public speaking. For many people, their fears and their anxieties don´t play a daily part in their lives but for phobia sufferers, their thoughts are always directed towards avoiding that which they fear. Exposure therapy is a great way to lessen the dread that so many phobia sufferers have to contend with but it needs to be approached effectively.
