What is Anxiety

What is Anxiety and Panic Attacks

When we are in a situation which is threatening or difficult. Panic will go away when we have got accustomed to the situation, when the situation improves, or after we leave the situation.

If it just goes on and on, or if it occurs out of the blue, or for no obvious reason, it can make life extremely hard.

Anxiety is often a word we have a tendency to use for some kinds of fear, usually to do with the thought of a threat or something going wrong in the foreseeable future instead of right now.

This emotion of this fear can last for a short time and then pass. But may also last for much longer and you can become stuck with this emotion. In a number of cases this feeling can take over your life, affecting your ability to:

Eating Habits Change either Loss of Appetite or eating Happy Foods,(normally Junk Foods)
Sleep often Causing Insomnia
Lack of Concentration

Enjoying the life you used to have
Leaving the house Agrophobia
Going to Work or School.

This can hold you back from doing things you want or need to do, and have an effect on your wellbeing. Health conditions that are directly based on fear include phobias, panic attacks and related disorders, including obsessive compulsive disorder. Some people become overwhelmed by fear and want to avoid situations that might make them frightened or anxious.

The Causes

Genes a number of us seem to be born more anxious than others. Research suggests these problems could be inherited From our Genes. But even someone who doesn’t naturally worry can, under sufficient pressure, turn out to be uncomfortably anxious.

Circumstances

it’s obvious what is making you anxious. When the issue disappears, so does the anxiety. Nevertheless, some extreme situations are so threatening that the anxiety goes on long after the event. You can feel nervous and anxious for months or years, even if you were physically unharmed. This is known as post-traumatic sress and anxiety disorder.

Drugs

Recreational drugs like Amphetamines, LSD or Ecstasy can all make you anxious

For some people, caffeine in coffee,or suger overload can be enough to trigger your anxiety

Life experience especially bad experiences in the past

Or big life-changes for example pregnancy, Exams Changing jobs , being unemployed or moving house.

Symptoms

The Feeling of being worried on a very regular basis
Tiredness and Irritability
Unable to sleep Insomnia
Difficulty in concentrating
Racing heartbeat
Sweating
Muscle tension and pains
Uncontrolable Shaking
Breathing heavily
Feeling dizzy or faint
Stomach disorders Indigestion or diarrhoea

If you are anxious already, the physical symptoms can make you worry they are the signs of a serious illness. This can make you even more anxious.

Panic Attacks

Panic is often defined as a sudden unexpected surge of anxiety which makes you want to leave the worrying situation. Someone having a panic attack experiences a sudden and intense sensation of fear. They may feel they have lost control and feel desperate to get out of the situation which has triggered their anxiety. They may also:

breathing rapidly
Being breathless
Over sweating and feeling very hot or cold
Feeling sick
Feeling faint or dizzy
having tingling fingers
shivering or shaking
A racing heart or irregular heartbeat (called palpitations)

The problem may worsen if over-breathing very short fast breaths sets in this will trigger sensations such as

Confusion, Not knowing where you are for example

Severe cramps,

Body pains and feelings of weakness.

The signs and symptoms of a severe panic attack can be relatively similar to a heart attack and someone experiencing one may be convinced they are going to die.

To someone thats having a panic attack, an activity that other people might consider straightforward can appear to be impossible.

Self management

Many people who frequently experience panic attacks seem to be helped by learning to breathe calmly when an attack feels near. An acute panic attack often subsides if you breathe in and out Blowing into a paper Bag. This enables you to re-breathe your own carbon dioxide.

Though it may seem a strange thing to do, it allows the acidity in the blood that is upset by over-breathing to return to normal. This removes most of the strange feelings that panic causes.

For many people, just knowing that their panic is brought on by a vicious circle of fear and body sensations can help calm them down.

Treatment for Anxiety and Panic Attacks

Tranquillisers (valium-type medicines, like most sleeping tablets) are very effective, but should only be taken for a short period of time as they can be addictive.

Antidepressants work well but can take two to four weeks to work. Side-effects include nausea, drowsiness, dizziness, dry mouth and constipation.

Beta blockers are usually used to treat high blood pressure but can be used, in low doses, to control the physical shaking of anxiety.

Psychotherapies /Talking Treatments are talking treatments which can help you understand and control your anxieties. They can happen in groups or individually, for several weeks or months. It’s generally a form of cognitive behavioural therapy, can help you to rethink the meanings you attach to changes in your body. For example, you may need to recognise that a fast pulse could be due to running upstairs or drinking too much coffee, rather than interpreting symptoms in a 'catastrophic' way (e.g. I'm going to die, or I'm going to faint).

This kind of rethinking is achieved through demonstrations by the therapist and through activities you carry out at home.

Holistic Therapies / Self Help You can learn relaxation techniques through Meditation,

Tai Chi,

Reiki,

Massage

Or Self Help with books, CDs and DVDs. Regular practice will help you to relax when you need to most.