How To Handle Your Panic Attacks

Posted by Michael Hunter on March 9, 2010

Panic attacks can happen to anybody, at any place and at any given time. They can be triggered by anything. When individuals are experiencing anxiety attacks, they have a tendency to feel weak and struggle with taking control of their situation. But, this does not have to happen to you. You can face panic attacks by using some of the following tips:

First, you need to know the symptoms when an anxiety attack hits you. Always keep in mind that having panic attacks does not mean you’re crazy. Acknowledging this reality alone will help you combat this problem. The reason why you need to understand your symptoms is so you can prepare yourself on how to combat it the best way. The symptoms usually include shortness of breath, sweating profusely, feeling light-headed, numbness of certain parts of the body, feeling weak, chest pain, difficulty in swallowing, and dry mouth. Remember that each person has different symptoms so there are other symptoms that I failed to include but these are the most common ones. It is possible for you to suffer from all the symptoms immediately or experience two or three of them during anxiety attacks.

Second, it’s critical that you discover the reason for your attacks. This is important because this can be the resolution to how you must combat the problem. It is recommended that you just reflect on your everyday life and determine the things that stress you out. Consider if you have a phobia about something or have experienced stress disorder in the past. By determining the basic reason for the problem, it will be easier for you to do  something about it.

Third, start changing your lifestyle. If you decide that anxiety attacks are triggered during a test, then make sure that you are well-prepared for it, anticipate the possibilities and make certain that you are prepared for it. Or, if anxiety attacks are triggered when you are doing public speaking, try practicing your speech in front of a few friends until you are finally ready to talk to a large audience. Reduce caffeine intake. Eat healthy foods and exercise often. These are effective stress reducers and will considerably decrease the number of panic attacks that you experience.

Since anxiety attacks are caused by feeling threatened, it is best to try and do some relaxation techniques. Meditation could be a good approach to achieve peace of mind. Set aside time to relax and unwind. There are cases that are already extreme and will require that you seek help from a professional.

When panic attacks strike, use the necessary relaxation strategies. The very basic step is to do breathing exercises. Take deep breaths many times till you can feel the anxiety attack slowly ebbing out. If you’re hyperventilating, attempt to breathe into a paper bag to regulate the carbon dioxide in your body. While doing the breathing exercise, attempt to imagine a different mental picture. Understand that many times only assistance from a medical professional will be able to assist you with the confrontation of your panic attacks. If you have any apprehensions at all, please, do not hesitate to ask for help!!

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9Mar

What Is Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy?

Posted by mikejay on March 1, 2010

Having an anxiety disorder is like serving a prison sentence. For a lot of people, it begins with heavy breathing, a racing heart and a slew of other symptoms that can be totally overwhelming and often makes it difficult to go about their every day lives. Anxiety treatments must be sought if you want to return to your normal every day life.

What appears to be a hopeless situation is not necessarily the case. There are things that you can do, but it begins when you actually admit that there is a problem. A general problem with anxiety sufferers is that they try to justify it as something that everybody has. Technically, they are right as everybody has some type of fear, but the point is that most people do not allow it to take over their lives

When you go to seek treatment, you will probably be prescribed some kind of medicine. However, this is not the only aspect of treatment. An aggressive therapy of some form should be considered to impede your anxiety. You will not be able to treat this without help, so you are going to need a professional at this stage.

There are many different approaches, one that can be very helpful is  cognitive-behavioral therapy. This treatment forces the patient to be put in a situation where they can deal with their fears head on. It may seem like a daunting task, but if you are going to control your condition, you are going to have to confront it.

The most aggressive of all these therapies is exposure therapy. This therapy puts you right in the middle of your fear and asks you to face it with the help of a counselor. A common fear is a fear of flying. For this therapy, you would be asked to go flying in small but steady steps that would finally allow you to do it by yourself.

For example, your treatment may begin with you getting on a aircraft without ever leaving the runway or having the doors shut. The very next step may be to close the doors and fasten the seatbelt. You then graduate to a quick trip down the runway and then some quick touch and go’s. All the while, you have someone there to support you and get you through the tough times.

At some point, it is going to be up to you to do this on your own. By doing each step of this process time and again, you will be ready for the final step. You may not even realize it, but your self-confidence will increase with every small step until you are ready to fly by yourself.

If you would like to get your life back under control and be able to enjoy the world in a way that has never been possible for you, consider cognitive-behavioral therapy to deal with your fears and drive your demons away. It may be difficult in the beginning, but your efforts will eventually enable you to regain control of your life.

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ANXIETY DISORDERS

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1Mar

General Anxiety Disorder Symptoms

Posted by Anxiety Expert on February 22, 2010

Life is hard, you don’t have to live long before you figure that out. You will feel a certain amount of anxiety throughout your life. There is no way to completely avoid it. However, you need to be concerned if your anxiety is a chronic problem. If you are constantly worrying and stressed out, then you could have what is called “General Anxiety Disorder”. GAD is a chronic, high level of anxiety that is not linked to anything specific.

General Anxiety Disorder Symptoms are:
Constant worry-
You are constantly worrying about the mistakes you made in the past and the problems you think you will face in the future. Many people worry about something that never happens. You worry about small matters in areas such as family, finances, work and personal illness. Your worry is bad enough that you worry about how much you worry.

Decisions-
You dread making decisions. You agonize over your decisions endlessly.

Irritability and edginess-
Stress causes strong emotional responses. If you are under a great deal of stress, you are more likely to lose control. If there is anything that can destroy love and unity at home or in a marriage, it is uncontrollable anger.
There is a philosophy that says that if you are angry let it out. This is not good advice. Most psychologists today believe differently, they believe that acting out your aggression, especially in a violent manner, results in more anger and aggression.

Physical Symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder:

1. Trembling
2. Muscle tension
3. Diarrhea
4. Dizziness
5. Faintness
6. Sweating
7. Heart Palpitations
8. Difficulty sleeping

Generalized Anxiety Disorder is a gradually progressing disorder. Females tend to have it more than males. If you even think that you may have Generalized Anxiety Disorder, or any type of anxiety disorder, you should see a doctor as soon as possible. Gains are being made in this field on a regular basis. Solutions are now available.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

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22Feb

How To Take Control Of Anxiety And Stress

Posted by mikejay on February 20, 2010

Anxiety is a spontaneous and natural reaction of the body which includes the brain (psychological) and the body (physical).

Anxiety is a procedure that sets the siren off like an alarm system that turns on when our bodies discover we are about to be harmed. During this time, we feel frightened, panicky, our heart beats go up, our respiration sequence becomes fast and difficult, our muscles become stiff and we begin trembling. We may feel nauseated and may be covered in perspiration. All of these symptoms are due to the adrenalin charge and other chemical substances (hormones) that are being unleashed by our bodies in stressful situations. We feel a very strong desire to get ready for combat and protect ourselves or to flee the situation. This is called the fight or flight response due to an anxiety attack.

All of us experience anxiety symptoms at one time or another. Individuals who suffer from anxiety habitually experience all kinds of difficult situations like panic attacks which is a form of extreme anxiety called panic disorder. During these circumstances people feel like they are going crazy and have no control of the situation. According to Charles Goodstein, MD, a clinical professor of psychiatry at New York University Langone Medical Center, the classic panic disorder presentation is the patient arriving to the emergency room with chest pain. This is because they are having symptoms of a heart attack; difficulty breathing, diaphoresis, and nausea.

Besides panic disorders, the NIH lists other Anxiety disorders as obsessive compulsive disorders (OCD), post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), social phobia or social anxiety disorder, specific phobias, and generalized anxiety disorder(GAD).

If you are having anxiety symptoms please seek medical assistance as quickly as you can. With the appropriate anxiety management, your anxiety will be under control which means you will be able to sleep and function better. If you have severe anxiety, it can be treated! So, go to the Doctor and obtain anxiety treatment without delay if you are not doing something about it.

Other methods to deal with your anxiety disorder is to learn relaxation techniques because they will help you lower stress by slowing your heart rate, lowering your blood pressure, decreasing your breathing, improving concentration, and you will experience a sense of well being.

Exercise will also help you relax. When you start feeling anxious just go for a little walk and if you are able, you can go jogging for a short distance or find another type of exercise you like.

Remember, you are not alone because millions of individuals suffer from these types of disorders. Besides looking for medical assistance, it is suggested you join a support group because it will help you deal with your situation better. Besides, those who are having the same troubles will be able to understand you better. There is plenty of help out there, you just have to ask for help.

ANXIETY AND STRESS INFORMATION

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20Feb

How Long Do Panic Attacks Last?

Posted by Anxiety Expert on February 17, 2010

It is impossible to give a single simple answer to the query how long does a panic attack last. Actually, there is little chance that two people would answer the question in the same way or give the same intervals in their individual experience. The candid answer to the question is that it depends on the patient because in truth, there are some that will experience a panic attack for a quick and passing moment while others might report having consistent attacks that last longer, while still others might experience a mixture of the two.

Majority Report That Their Panic Attacks Last A Short Time

It would be reasonable to state that in many cases people will answer the question by claiming that they only have short term attacks. Others might report the attacks last much longer, usually between twenty minutes and an hour. Others, of course, report having a mixture of both short and long term durations of their panic attacks.

Yet another way of properly answering the question is to first identify the exact cause or accurate trigger of the panic attack because the duration of the panic attack will be directly affected by how long it takes for the patient to recover from the symptoms and it also depends on how long various triggers last. The precise time that the panic attacks actually start can be difficult to determine for some people as their attacks come on subtly and slowly. For others the onset is very quick and therefore it is easier to pinpoint. Every person has a different experience, and though there are some common triggers, each persons’ perception of their own situation will differ slightly from other panic attack victims.

For more answers and information on panic attacks take the time to look thoroughly at the information freely available on the internet. There are many helpful articles and websites that can help with dealing with this debilitating disorder. Some even have reviews of various cures and treatments that are written by people who have tried them and know how well they do or do not work. However, the only way to discover if any of these will work for you is to actually try them yourself.

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17Feb