Anxiety panic attacks can be sudden and seem to come without any warning. They can be terribly upsetting and frightening. In many attacks sufferers report that they experienced a sense of dying.
Symptoms of an attack also include a rapid pounding heartbeat, shortness of breath, chest pains and obsessive thoughts of embarrassment, fear and worry. Many sufferers dread that something bad is going to happen during an attack.
Panic attacks are usually linked to panic disorder and specific phobias such as agoraphobia. Agoraphobia can vary in severity and many people can live their lives quite normally without too many limitations.
Agoraphobia sufferers may avoid places that are difficult to escape from like a crowded mall or an elevator. They dread a panic attack may come on and that they’ll go crazy for all to see.
Although attacks may seem out of the blue, they are just the result of the body’s stress response system. The stress response played a vital role in man’s survival back when men were hunting prey with spears.
The stress response triggers the adrenal glands releasing adrenaline and cortisol. Essentially this would make the hunter ready to stand and fight or flee. Through the ages the human brain function has changed little
Many scientists believe that the stress response is redundant in the modern world. In modern day society, the stress response is triggered too frequently and unnecessarily triggered.
In modern day society getting mauled by a lion is pretty unlikely but the stress response could save you from danger such as a car accident. The negative is that excessive production of hormones such as adrenaline can be damaging for the mind and body. This can sometimes lead to anxiety disorders developing.
Anxiety disorders can sometimes mean that the sufferer is homebound with limited connection to the outside world. Luckily there are treatments available for anxiety disorders. What’s more, there are therapies and techniques to help deal with anxiety and depression.
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