The symptoms of anxiety attacks are overwhelmingly frightening.
They can occur without any apparent warning, and when they do they are utterly devastating to the victim.
Anxiety attacks -- or panic attacks as they are also called -- can leave the sufferer with a real conviction that they are having a heart attack or that they are about to die.
The symptoms of anxiety attacks, although extremely frightening, cannot harm you.
In fact the symptoms are just the body's own normal reaction to the victim's irrational fears of some 'impending doom'.
Seven typical symptoms of anxiety attacks are:- 1.
Tightness in the chest and throat.
2.
Heart palpitations, pounding heart, or irregular heartbeat.
3.
Irregular breathing, shortness of breath.
4.
Dizziness, light headedness.
5.
Feeling of detachment from reality, disorientation.
6.
Tingling sensation in fingers, feet etc.
7.
And while you're feeling the physical symptoms above, you have a real feeling of 'impending doom'.
(A word of caution here.
Whilst the above are some of the more common symptoms of an anxiety attack, they can also be symptoms of other medical conditions.
Always consult your doctor, don't self-diagnose.
) Now, although these attacks can occur out of nowhere, they have an underlying cause or 'trigger' which may have occurred hours before the actual event.
Stress or general anxiety is the platform upon which an attack is based.
Then all it takes is for something to trigger the actual attack.
So there are two components here, the underlying general anxiety, and, the trigger that brings about an attack.
Often times this trigger is just the fear of another attack itself, and you may have this fear without even realizing it.
It doesn't matter how hard you try to get rid of your general anxiety: if the fear of having another attack is always present, there is nothing to prevent it happening again and again.
It's a vicious cycle.
And repeated attacks can have severe consequences for your well-being and quality of life.
You need to get rid of the fear of the symptoms of anxiety attacks first, then, eliminate the general anxiety.