Panic Attack – Is This You?
Experiencing Fear Is Normal
At some point in each person’s life, he or she experiences the sensation known as fear. That is normal. However excessive or unrealistic apprehension is not normal. Anxiety disorders show up in people who have developed an irrational response to a harmless object or situation. When such disorders become severe, then the anxious person could experience anxiety attacks.
Chronic Anxiety
A chronically anxious person displays signs of worry and concern in just about every situation. He or she feels stressed when expected to make simple everyday decisions. Even when not confronted with a choice, that person seems able to dream up some sort of potential danger. He or she worries constantly about the family, about finances, about friendships and about his or her personal health.
Often such individuals find it difficult to function at school or work. Their ability to stay calm in a social setting has become a great challenge. Sometimes their fears and apprehensions become so strong that the affected person begins to exhibit the classic signs of panic attacks.
What A Panic Attack Feels Like
Anxiety Can Feel Overwhelming
During a panic attack, the panicky individual could well have a pounding heart. He or she could begin sweating. He or she might start trembling or shaking. He or she might find it hard to breathe, and might act as though someone has tried to smother him or her with a blanket. Nausea, dizziness, numbness, tingling sensations, chills or hot flashes are all symptoms of an attack that is caused by belief in an irrational danger.
Obviously, a person can not live a full and useful life, if he or she responds to simple events and harmless objects in such a fashion. Those who do not want to use some type of medication find some relief in psychotherapy or cognitive- behavioral therapy. The later treatment teaches the affected patient how to cope with symptoms such as rapid breathing.
Strategies
Coping strategies help some of those affected with these disorders. Some recover completely; others show a significant improvement. After undergoing normal psychological treatment, the recovered or improved patient can learn to manage episodes of sudden, unexplained terror.
