Category: General Health

Preventing Anxiety Attacks

Anxiety attacks choose no one. It can happen to happy and perfectly normal people of all ages including children. Many cases of anxiety attacks just come out of the blue, or happen without any logical, clear or apparent reason. It may occur while you are relaxed during the day and even while asleep. Still, there are several ways on how to prevent anxiety attacks.

Learn about anxiety Understanding how anxiety affects the body as well as the mind can go a long way in your effort to prevent attacks. Read articles about anxiety and other psychological disorders that are related to it. Learn what are the things you should watch out for, things you should avoid, and practices you should do in case of an attack.

Avoid unnecessary stressors Recurring attacks are caused by “triggers” situations such as speaking in front of the public or getting trapped in an elevator. The effects of these triggers are often aggravated by stress. In other words, stress can act as a catalyst for such attacks to happen. Hence, reducing the stress level by avoiding unnecessary stressors can help prevent attacks. Avoid people that stress you out. Learn how to say ‘no’ to invitations as well as overtime when you have other things to do. Do not accept additional work that you can’t accomplish. These may seem very little things but can significantly increase stress level as well as increase the chances of having an attack.

Exercise has lots of health benefits including the promotion of well-being. It is also proven and effective method to prevent anxiety attack. Research shows that as little as 30 minutes of physical activity – 3 to 5 times a week – is enough to promote a healthy body. Increasing the intensity of the exercise produces more positive effects.

Eat balanced diet Like exercise, a well-balanced diet is important in keeping the body healthy, resistant to illnesses, and maintain a low stress level. As much as possible, eat natural or organic foods. Avoid processed foods or those that contain preservatives and chemicals.

Avoid smoking and caffeine. To those who are susceptible to anxiety attacks, substantial amount of caffeine (from coffee, soda and tea) as well as smoking cigarettes can provoke such attacks even further. It is wise, therefore, to avoid these things as much as possible.

Practice relaxation techniques Yoga, meditation, and other breathing techniques help strengthen the body’s relaxation response. When practiced regularly, these techniques even increase the feeling of uplifted emotions, happiness, and self-control, which increase self-confidence and self-esteem – significant factors in fighting anxiety attacks.

Learn to become assertive People with anxiety disorder usually have low self-esteem. Low self-esteem is manifested by passiveness, feeling worthless, feeling of guilt and shame, depressed mood, isolation, and difficulty in school, work, and community functions. Learning to become assertive may involve joining a group, entering into therapy sessions or simply learning to open up to others. It may take a while, but once a person learns how to assert himself, he will carry positive outlook in life which helps prevent anxiety attacks caused by “triggers”.

Awareness of the symptoms of anxiety attacks is as important as knowing how to prevent it. Watch out for:

Chest pain or heart palpitation
Feeling of loosing control or going crazy
Irrational fear over trivial things
Hot flashes or chills
Trouble breathing or choking sensation
Feeling like passing out
Feeling unreal or detach
Nausea or stomach cramps
Hyperventilation
Shaking or trembling
Feeling and fear of dying

Physical Signs of Anxiety Attack

Anxiety is a feeling of fear, apprehension and discomfort over a situation. This is actually a good and healthy feeling since the body is able to recognize something that it needs to address. This “flight or fight” response enables the body to get that much needed boost of energy to react to the specific situation. In this case, anxiety is helpful. However, if it gets intense, recurring and exaggerated, it may already be considered as an anxiety attack.

The exact cause of an anxiety attack is not fully understood, but research suggests that genetics, life experiences and brain chemistry contribute to the onset of the attack. What is known is that during the attack, a person shows signs and changes in the body.

The immediate sign of anxiety attack is increased heartbeat or palpitation. This is the most distressing among anxiety symptoms. But this is generally a good thing since the heart works harder to pump more blood to your body, especially to your legs and your arms, enabling you to have a surge of energy to respond quicker than normal to any emergency. The chest feels tight as if it refuses to expand to accommodate air the body needs. Sometimes, the feeling is like someone is pushing a pillow into your face.

The additional oxygen requirement of the body must be compensated by breathing. Thus, during an anxiety attack, you breathe faster. As your arms and legs receive more oxygen and energy, your muscles tend to get tensed, which is important when abrupt movement is needed.

As your arms and legs receive more supply of oxygen through the blood, other parts of the body receive less than normal supply of oxygen (the stomach and the brain can survive with less oxygen during emergency situations). In other words, the oxygen that is supposed to go to the stomach is redirected to the arms and legs. This explains why a person who is undergoing an anxiety attack experiences churning feeling in the stomach. Because the brain receives less amount of oxygen for a short period of time, the person experiences light-headedness and dizziness. (Take note, however, that the reduced supply of oxygen in the brain is just enough to produce these symptoms and doesn’t cause any permanent brain damage.)

Because your heart pumps more blood to your muscles, your body temperature increases. So to keep a relatively normal temperature, you begin to sweat.

Aside from these signs, you can also experience weakness or fatigue, tingling sensation, and dry mouth. Also, side-effects of these signs may include diarrhea and constant urination.

These body responses are automatic. Meaning, there is no “switch” to turn it on. Thus, there is also no way you can turn it off by simply thinking that you should not feel any of these symptoms. What you should do, especially if the attack is chronic, recurring and it already affects your life, is to seek medical help. This way, your doctor will be able to identify and rule out any other possible causes of these signs which are unrelated to anxiety.

Allow your doctor to conduct a physical exam. He may prescribe you a drug or may refer you to a psychologist or a therapist. Following your doctor is important so do not ignore any advice and believe that you are totally okay.

Panic Attacks What Would Happen If You Do Not

Panic Attacks What Would Happen If You Do Not Get Treatment

At the onset of panic attacks or disorder, it is best to go see your doctor immediately and have it evaluated as this will not only give you a clear understanding of what condition you are undergoing but this could also prevent the aggravation of the disorder. Here are several possible scenarios if you do not get panic attacks intervention immediately:

Agoraphobia. Contrary to public belief, agoraphobia is not the fear of closed spaces. It is actually fear of public places basing from the Greek root word “agora” which means market or marketplace. Agoraphobics fear interaction with people especially in places where they expect to experience episodes of panic or anxiety. Panic attacks and agoraphobia are often closely connected as these disorders exhibit identical symptoms such as shortness of breath, the sensation of dying or going crazy, and the feeling of having heart attack.

Over-dependence on psychotherapeutic medications specifically anti-anxiety disorder medications. People suffering from panic attacks and could not get hold of themselves are often helped by medications to control their symptoms. But for those who cannot muster enough initiative to resolve their condition without having to rely on medications are often enclosed within the idea of medication as the ultimate solution against panic attacks.

While over-dependence on medication to control the symptoms of panic attacks is not the same as addiction to the medications, this behavior still poses serious possible problems since those people who become dependent on drugs oftentimes fail to utilize other more effective treatments. They can also become too dependent that they would fail to function properly without the necessary dosage of particular drugs.

Further, although dependence on medications is not an entirely negative solution, in fact for some people it is the most effective, it should be remembered that it is not the only solution. There are less intensive, less invasive, but equally appropriate and effective therapies and methods that are typically overlooked due to too much dependence on panic attack drugs.

Depression. 20% of panic attack patients are likely to commit suicide, a typical outcome of depression, at one time or another, says research. The connection between panic attacks and depression can be viewed from several different standpoints. According to an explanation for example, depression develops from a person’s exhaustion caused by chronic anxiety that typically accompany such attacks.

Another explanation purports to the fact that those people with panic attacks and also have developed serious cases of agoraphobia are prevented from socializing with other people and from doing the things that they previously enjoyed, leading to a general feeling of isolation and unhappiness. This further leads to the development of episodes of depression.

Diabetes. It is not uncommon to find people who are suffering from panic attacks and also have indications of comorbid disorders, an example of which is diabetes. Research shows that people with diabetes and who also experienced intermittent episodes of panic attacks are less likely to live quality lives and are also more likely to develop complications. Among people with diabetes, panic attacks as well as depression impede them from efficiently monitoring and controlling their blood glucose level.

Substance abuse. Chronic misuse of alcohol and other unhealthy substances is a coping mechanism against negative conditions such as behavioral disorders. So long as the condition that caused the chronic use of substances exists, in this case panic attacks, the negative resolution will persist.

Panic Attacks — Signs of Vulnerability

Panic attacks do not come from nowhere, though the possibility of them coming out of the blue cannot be discounted. Nonetheless, there is always that something that triggers the occurrence of such attacks. Experts believe that the causes are multi-factorial and pre-disposing factors are many. Included are the following:

Genetics. Panic attacks run in the family. If you great grandfather had it, there is a relative possibility that you might develop the disorder as well. In typical cases, those people who have relatives with panic attacks are twice more likely to experience either acute or chronic but intermittent episodes of panic disorder than normal people. Nonetheless, there are people who have family history of panic attacks that do not develop the disorder.

Medical causes. There are several medical conditions that could allow for the development of panic disorder and panic attacks. Among them are mitral valve prolapse, hypoglycemia, hyperthyroidism, abrupt withdrawal from medication usage, and use of stimulants. Mitral valve prolapse, otherwise known as MVP, is a heart disease that affects the mitral valves, the part of the heart that prevents the backflow of blood. The symptoms of this disease are shortness of breath and chest pain along with others. Not only do these symptoms resemble those of panic attacks but research by the American Heart Association confirmed that there is a direct link between MVP and panic attacks.

Hypoglycemia, on the other hand, is a condition characterized by a lower level of blood glucose. Meanwhile, hyperthyroidism is also a condition that is somehow linked with panic attacks. This condition is marked by the overproduction of thyroid hormones namely T3 and T4 hormones. Abrupt withdrawal from certain medications is also believed to be a cause of panic attacks since this triggers sudden changes in the body. Another factor that may lead to the development of panic attacks is the use of stimulant substances such as beverages with high caffeine content and marijuana.

Medications. The body’s reaction to foreign materials with medical properties is not always necessarily positive. There are cases when the substances found in the drugs produce the right conditions in the body conducive to the arousal of panic attacks. For example, methylphenidate which is more commonly known as Ritalin is used for patients of ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder as well as narcolepsy could cause panic attacks for some people.

Gender. This seems to be a predisposing factor towards the development of panic disorder. According to studies females are 50% more likely than their counterparts to develop the disorder.

Major life events. Substantial events in life that lead to extreme changes can create the right environments for the occurrence of panic attacks. This may be because such drastic changes create tensions in the homeostasis of a person’s life, thus upsetting the previous order of things and forcing the person to confront the changes. If the person fails to respond accordingly, the tension may persist and he might be overcome by it. Thus, producing a number of symptoms that could be characterized under psychological disorders, panic attacks included.

Phobias. Although the statistics are not established yet, it seems clear that people who have severe cases of phobias are more susceptible to developing panic disorders. This could be due to the fact that phobias cause elevated levels of fear to start with.