by Patricia Cunningham

Created on: January 30, 2009

If you've had an anxiety attack, you'll never forget it. The symptoms are frightening and come without warning. Certain situations may cause discomfort and before you know it, your physical and emotional sensations spiral out of control. Fear of a repeat performance can cause so much dread that many people with anxiety develop further disorders such as generalized anxiety, agoraphobia, panic disorder and avoidance behaviors.

Let's look at the body's reaction to stress. In the wild, animals are often faced with predators, causing a "fight or flight response". This response is a necessary and appropriate reaction to a dangerous situation. The animal must either stay and fight or run for its life. Both options cause changes in its body. Blood rushes to extremities, the heart rate increases and adrenaline floods its system. People are equipped with this same fight or flight response and it's appropriate in the face of real danger such as a fire or emergency situation. People with anxiety, however, experience this "fight or flight response" where no danger exists. We experience the symptoms, but not as a reaction to anything external. It's as if a light switch turns itself on for no apparent reason.

The first anxiety attack is the most frightening. There is a surge of overwhelming desperation to get help NOW, and often, the sufferer finds himself in the emergency room. The sufferer truly believes he or she is dying. What else could be causing these horrible symptoms?

Let's look at the almost endless list of symptoms people experience during an anxiety/panic attack. You may feel any combination of these physical and emotional symptoms during an attack:

Fear of Dying, chest pain, dizziness, rapid heartbeat, difficulty swallowing, sweating, chills, shortness of breath, muscle tension or twitches, headache, fatigue, feeling of unreality, irritability, restlessness, feeling of dread, apprehension, difficulty concentrating, choking sensation, shaking visibly or inside, fear of losing control, fear of going crazy, numbness or tingling and feeling of unreality.

Experiencing other symptoms does not mean that your condition is worse or different, or that you are suffering from some other undiagnosed condition. Your doctor will want to run some tests to rule out any other illness. Most anxiety sufferers travel from doctor to doctor awaiting a diagnosis, sure that there has to be something terribly, terribly wrong. Most people get a clean bill of health and by process of elimination, anxiety is determined.

Some people have anxiety disorder but never suffer from panic attack symptoms. A panic attack is basically a more extreme version of an anxiety attack. There is help for sufferers. Treatment varies from medication to facing fears head on. The symptoms seem to divert our attention from real issues and decisions we haven't resolved.

An anxiety attack and its symptoms can not hurt you, kill you or make you go crazy. They are false alarms. Learning to cope with them and tackling the underlying emotional issues can create inner peace and help you to get on with your life.

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