Saturday, April 11, 2009

Causes Of Anxiety

There is no one thing that causes this disorder and those that are related to it. You may think that there are certain things that trigger it. Well, there could be and then again, it may be something that just happens. It all depends on how it is perceived.

Those that the anxiety attacks or related disorders may have one attack. Then they may go back to the scene where the initial one took place and have another one. They are reminded of what happened before. They are going to feel bad and end up having another one without thinking about it. It seems like a constant cycle of intense fear. Then they feel that they are going to have more attacks.

Believe it or not, it is all in the mind. If you constantly fear and expect to have an anxiety attack or something related to it, then it is going to happen. The thing about this is people that experience these attacks resent having to hear that it is all in the mind. They feel that people are brushing this off as something that you are able to get over.

The feeling of anxiety comes from your brain. According to studies that deal with this, there are at least two areas of your brain that help to trigger the sense of fear and anxiety in your mind. It causes your brain to have a defense mechanism and then you react.

However, there is able to be situations that you may think cause anxiety and related attacks. Some man and women have so much stress nowadays. It is able to come from office politics, overwhelming debt, family issues and other events that are able to bring this on.

There are also some drugs that ar able to trigger an anxiety attack from side effects or withdrawals. This would include alcohol, caffeine, cold medicine, decongestants, nicotine, diet pills and numerous other medications that people take for various ailments and illnesses.

Not eating right is also able to be a contributor to anxiety. There are some situations, where you may have to take a test or face a lot of people. If you are not ready, you are able to get nervous or jittery.

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

Handling Anxiety Attacks

Anxiety attacks can be seen as an abnormal and irrational panic over trivial things or accidents or for no reason at all. Attacks usually occur without warning and a person can simply burst into fear. Triggers can cause anxiety attack – like getting stuck in the elevator or being called to recite in the class – but in other cases, attacks come out of the blue. An anxiety attack is disproportionate reaction to the situation or the problem at hand, leaving the person excessively fearful, or sometimes incapacitated, which affects life, relationships, happiness and peace of mind.

Symptoms of Anxiety Attack

A person undergoing an episode of anxiety attack shows the following symptoms:

• Heart palpitation (increase in heartbeat)
• Hot flashes or chills
• Hyperventilation
• Surge of overwhelming panic
• Feeling detached or unreal
• Trembling or shaking
• Trouble breathing
• Feeling of losing control, going crazy; or fear of dying
• Choking sensation
• Nausea or stomach crams
• Sweating
• Dizziness
• Chest discomfort or pain

Handling anxiety attacks

Anxiety attacks usually peak within 10 minutes and rarely last for half an hour. But during this time, a person can totally lose control of himself and show symptoms mentioned above. To handle this attack, a person must:

Relax – Although it is often impossible to relax during an attack, it is very crucial not to submit yourself to your emotion. Breathe. Deep breathing helps calms and relaxes your mind and body. During an anxiety attack, focus your breathing to slow down your heartbeat. This also diverts your attention from the attack which helps you recover faster. Take some time and practice deep breathing exercises even if you are not stressed or feel anxious.

Think positively – Again, during an anxiety attack, it is often impossible to relax or even calm yourself, but you have to be in control. Push more positive thoughts to your head. Instead of thinking that others will humiliate you or you are going to faint because you cannot take the pressure, think of the good things. Do no anticipate that something bad will happen because in reality, there isn't. Keep in mind that the more you think negatively, the more anxious and panicky it is going to be.

Think that it will be over soon – and it will. Anxiety attacks do not last for more than an hour so there is no reason for you to think and feel that your world is over. You don't have to be mindful of the time. You don't even have to count every minute that passed. What you should be doing is be conscious that it will not going to last forever.

Start an exercise program – We have heard that exercise has lots of benefits both to the body and the mind. It is also a great stress buster and anxiety reliever. Experts agree that as little as 30 minutes of exercise, 3 to 5 times a week is enough to lower the level of stress and reduce the chances of having episodes of anxiety attacks.

Talk to someone you trust – It can be your friend, your wife (husband), a relative or a therapist. Often, having someone who listens and understands what a person is going through will make a lot of difference. This is because it allows you to bring out your emotion rather than keeping it to yourself.