The National Institute of Mental Health refers to anxiety attacks as part of the larger group known as Panic Disorder. Other names you might hear which fall under this bracket are anxiety disorder attacks, panic disorder attacks or most commonly, panic attacks. Those who have experienced a panic attack are not alone, it is estimated that one in every 75 people in the world have had an anxiety attack at some point in their life.
Experiencing an anxiety attack is a feeling far more intense than that of feeling ’stressed out’ and sufferers report heart palpitations, nausea, chest pain, headaches and stomach aches. It is normal for a person to experience one or two anxiety attacks in their lifetime. However, when anxiety attacks occur regularly and begin to interfering with the persons lifestyle this could a sign of anxiety attack disorder. Once the panic attacks start happening it is easy for the sufferer to then in turn develop a fear of the panic attacks, thus repeating the cycle.
Anxiety attacks have been described as a sudden feeling of fear, terror or dread which appears for no apparent reason. These feelings can be accompanied by the physical symptoms of anxiety listed above or some of the following; sweating, faintness, hot or cold flushes, tingling or burning sensations on the skin or irrational thoughts. Everybody is different though and this list is not exclusive, the symptoms may manifest themselves in a number of ways depending on the person.
The duration of the anxiety attack depends on the severity of the attack, some of the symptoms may be in effect for some days and hours later. Most of the time the anxiety and panic attacks last anywhere between a few moments and half an hour. Sometimes, an anxiety attack can also trigger more subsequent anxiety attacks to occur.
Though it can be found in all ages, anxiety attack disorder is most commonly found in the 17 to 25 age bracket. They are more often reported by women than men, though this could be that men are more reluctant to seek help to overcome anxiety.
It is commonly thought that causes of anxiety are down to genetical or biological reasons, scientists have not found any evidence to support this theory. Therefore, as far as our knowledge of this subject permits, anxiety disorders are behavioural and not inherited. It is common for anxiety disorder to run in families but this is more likely due to environmental factors rather than genetic ones.
There are no quick fixes for this issue but the best thing you can do is make good use of the abundance of self-help material out there and employ the services of a good therapist. A trained professional will be able to determine the root cause of your anxiety attacks and address them. This may not be a quick process depending on the severity of your condition. But persevere and it will be worth it in the end.
Copyright 2009 Patricia Adams (Ex Panic Sufferer)
