Anxiety and Panic Attacks - Why Am I Afraid?
Do you suffer from anxiety, phobias, excessive fears, or even worse panic attacks? Well don't feel like the lone ranger cause there are a lot of people who are experiencing those very same symptoms! I'm one of them and have been dealing with symptoms of social anxiety for the past 30 years or so.
Anxiety is a natural human reaction that involves mind and body.
It serves an important basic survival function: Anxiety is an alarm system that is activated whenever a person perceives an intimate danger or threat.
When the body and mind react to a danger or threat, a person feels physical sensations of anxiety - things like a faster heartbeat and breathing, tense muscles, sweaty palms, a queasy stomach, and trembling hands or legs.
These sensations are part of the body's fight-flight response.
They are caused by a rush of adrenaline and other chemicals that prepare the body to make a quick getaway from danger (flight) or to confront the danger (fight.
) They can be mild or extreme.
The fight-flight response happens instantly when a person senses a threat.
It takes a few seconds longer for the thinking part of the brain (the cortex) to process the situation and evaluate whether the threat is real, and if so, how to handle it.
If the cortex sends the all-clear signal, the fight-flight response is deactivated and the nervous system can relax.
If the mind reasons that a threat might last, feelings of anxiety might linger, keeping the person alert.
Physical sensations such as rapid, shallow breathing; a pounding heart; tense muscles; and sweaty palms might continue, too, and can lead to a panic attack.
A panic attack is a reaction to anxiety that is very unpleasant to say the least! It's characterized by heart palpitations, excessive sweating, trembling, and a feeling of impending doom.
Many people while experiencing a panic attack have thought they were having a heart attack.
One way of dealing with anxiety and/or panic is to realize the feelings you're having while being unpleasant will in reality not cause you any real harm.
You then actually create situations that will trigger your anxiety and panic, and learn to live through them.
This can be very powerful in helping you get a handle on your symptoms.
Anxiety is a natural human reaction that involves mind and body.
It serves an important basic survival function: Anxiety is an alarm system that is activated whenever a person perceives an intimate danger or threat.
When the body and mind react to a danger or threat, a person feels physical sensations of anxiety - things like a faster heartbeat and breathing, tense muscles, sweaty palms, a queasy stomach, and trembling hands or legs.
These sensations are part of the body's fight-flight response.
They are caused by a rush of adrenaline and other chemicals that prepare the body to make a quick getaway from danger (flight) or to confront the danger (fight.
) They can be mild or extreme.
The fight-flight response happens instantly when a person senses a threat.
It takes a few seconds longer for the thinking part of the brain (the cortex) to process the situation and evaluate whether the threat is real, and if so, how to handle it.
If the cortex sends the all-clear signal, the fight-flight response is deactivated and the nervous system can relax.
If the mind reasons that a threat might last, feelings of anxiety might linger, keeping the person alert.
Physical sensations such as rapid, shallow breathing; a pounding heart; tense muscles; and sweaty palms might continue, too, and can lead to a panic attack.
A panic attack is a reaction to anxiety that is very unpleasant to say the least! It's characterized by heart palpitations, excessive sweating, trembling, and a feeling of impending doom.
Many people while experiencing a panic attack have thought they were having a heart attack.
One way of dealing with anxiety and/or panic is to realize the feelings you're having while being unpleasant will in reality not cause you any real harm.
You then actually create situations that will trigger your anxiety and panic, and learn to live through them.
This can be very powerful in helping you get a handle on your symptoms.
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