Anxiety and Panic Attack Symptoms

Lately I‘ve been having a reoccurring
sense of fear and uncertainty, what are
the symptoms for anxiety panic attacks?

Grab your hat and run for the door, on second thought forget the hat - stress and anxiety panic attack symptoms are caused by a number of biological changes which temporarily hijack a normally well functioning brain - it’s an automatic defensive response to danger gone out of control.

Yes, but what if there is no danger, just a perceived danger? The many panic attack symptoms are as follows: a violently pounding heart, difficulty breathing, feeling a lack of oxygen, mind numbing terror, nausea, trembling, lots of sweating, shaking, choking, chest pains, hot flashes, sudden chills, tingling in the fingers or toes.

Symptoms can also include palpitations, sweating, shortness of breath, sensations of choking or smothering, chest pains, similar to having a heart attack. If you would like to read more on this then I suggest Wikipedia for a quick update. You could also have nausea or gastrointestinal distress, dizziness or lightheadedness. The list goes on, not very reassuring but the body can respond in many ways when the brain shorts out.

Panic attack symptoms can become part of a cycle which reinforces itself, leaving you, the poor sufferer, trapped in a rut that becomes easier to fall into over time. Imagine a worn roulette wheel that should have been taken out of service because the ball falls too often into the same number. Fortunately, panic attack symptoms usually only last for a short period of time.

The question you are probably asking is “Do I have to put up with panic attack symptoms?” The answer to that is of course up to you. Not solely, there are, in addition to medication, a variety of ways that can help you take control of these symptoms. These ideas will be covered in more detail elsewhere but this panic attack info might be helpful, from the psychiatryonline.org.

Panic attack symptoms are signals; at the first sign or even recognizing the potential for trouble is the time to go into action. Allowing yourself to be drawn into situations, especially those that repeat themselves is fuel for even more complex problems. Take crowded places, like elevators or airplanes, where you have a trapped feeling. This disorder is specific phobia and arises more out of your desire not to go through another bout of panic rather than the actual situation.

Should you experience a disorder like this don’t dismiss it, rather look for a solution, or take the stairs. “You must be kidding,” you say, “it’s 13 floors and I‘m wearing heals.” Of course, but suppose you could throw some switches in you head, as you step on the elevator and instantly transform yourself into the writer of a children’s book about some exotic trip through time? What would happen then? You can visit Panic Away! and see for yourself how to deal with this problem.