Getting Hold of Your Life: What Are Anxiety Attacks?

We’ve all heard it mentioned countless times. A friend may tell you that he has been suffering from anxiety attacks or you may even be told by your doctor that you have just had one. What exactly are anxiety attacks and how can they affect our lives?

Anxiety Attacks

It is normal for all of us to have moments when we feel fear, discomfort, nervousness and uneasiness. This is what we might call experiencing anxiety. We may go through this sensation when confronted with a traumatic event, unfamiliar circumstances or when we simply have to solve a difficult problem. Normally, the anxiety that we go through is the body’s normal way of telling us that danger or a problem is in front of us and we have to do something about it. We either have to flee from it or fight it. Once the problem is resolved, anxiety goes away.

In some people, the sensation of anxiety can be so overblown, overpowering and seemingly uncontrollable. Episodes of these are what are known as anxiety attacks. Those who constantly suffer from it may have developed an anxiety disorder. Some of us though may go through some form of anxiety attack even if we do not have the disorder.

Characteristics

Normal reactions of anxiety are triggered. Anxiety attacks may also be triggered but sometimes they are not. It is also possible that the trigger is not obvious to others or that the trigger does not really merit an extreme panic reaction. In some people, panic attacks can happen without any warning and at any time and location. An anxiety attack episode usually lasts for a few minutes. Sometimes though, a person may eventually enter into a vicious cycle. He may begin to anticipate panic attacks especially in certain situations. Such anticipation may make panic attacks even more certain of happening.

Symptoms

People who go through anxiety attack episodes experience a variety of symptoms. They may become extremely nervous, confused, uneasy and wary. They may also lose their sense of direction and concentration and may have the feeling that they are going insane. There is an overwhelming need to escape.

Physically, a person who has a panic attack will begin to sweat a lot, feel dizzy and have heart palpitations. These sensations may be accompanied by headaches, chest pain, muscle pains, stomach upset and shortness of breath. Individuals who have a severe attack or those who periodically have attacks may additionally suffer from long lasting fatigue and sleeplessness.

Causes

There are no clear exact causes of panic attacks yet. It is believed though that a person has a higher risk of having anxiety attacks if his family has a history of it. The condition can therefore be hereditary but people who do not have family members with the condition may also suffer from it.

Individuals with phobias have also been known to suffer from extreme episodes of anxiety. This is understandable because an irrational fear over something will naturally trigger an overblown response. Phobias and anxiety attacks are thus closely linked.