Anxiety Attacks Symptoms
Anxiety attacks symptoms can make your heart pound and cause you to feel short of breath, dizzy, nauseated and flushed. Because anxiety attack symptoms can resemble life-threatening conditions, it’s important to seek an accurate diagnosis and treatment.
Being hit by anxiety disorder is like being washed away in the sea of fear and anxiety. It can happen everywhere – in the supermarket while you’re out and about buying groceries, or at the office while you’re in the middle of an important report. You couldn’t get more scared than when you’re having a anxiety attack. Your blood seems to rise, your pulse quickens, and you breathe heavily. It is important to see a physician and seek anxiety disorder treatment if you have current health conditions that could be aggravated by this episode.
There are some coping techniques that you can perform in the middle of a anxiety disorder. The first is muscle relaxation which involves all major muscle groups in your body like the legs, shoulders, and arms. Tense your arms and hold it for about ten second then release. The same goes with your legs and shoulders. As you do this, don’t forget to take deep breaths because breathing is an important aspect of relaxation.
When to see a doctor
If you have any anxiety attack symptoms, seek medical help as soon as possible. anxiety attacks are hard to manage on your own, and they may get worse without treatment. And because anxiety attack symptoms can also resemble other serious health problems, such as a heart attack, it’s important to get evaluated by your health care provider if you aren’t sure what’s causing your symptoms.
The goal of treatment is to eliminate all of your anxiety attack symptoms. With effective treatment, most people are eventually able to resume everyday activities.
The main treatment options for anxiety attacks are medications and psychotherapy. Both are effective. Your doctor likely will recommend starting with just one type of treatment, depending on your preference and whether there are therapists with special training in anxiety disorders in your area.
High quality research has shown that a 10-12 session therapy can work as well as medications for anxiety. This approach is more like getting some coaching on anxiety management techniques than “therapy” as you might usually think of it. And it seems to work better than medications if you look at how people are doing 6 months after treatment.
Cognitive behavioral therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy can help you change thinking (cognitive) patterns that trigger your fears and anxiety attacks. It can also help you change the way you react (behave) to anxious or fearful situations. During therapy sessions, you learn to recognize things that trigger your anxiety attacks or make them worse, such as specific thoughts or situations. You also learn ways to cope with the anxiety and physical symptoms associated with anxiety attacks.
As your symptoms improve, you and your therapist will develop a plan to taper off therapy. You may agree to schedule occasional maintenance visits to help ensure that your anxiety attacks remain under control.
