Anxiety panic attacks - symptoms

These are only a few symptoms of an anxiety or panic attack, and they are your body's way of coping with the surge of adrenalin that is coursing through your veins. Despite the chemical nature of the attack, however, it is simply a mode of thinking that you can grow out of with the best coping techniques. First of all, be comforted by the fact that you are not the only one to experience a panic attack. Your boss was an employee once upon a time, and he or she had to turn in a report or talk about one. He or she might have fumbled and fidgeted, vomited or shook, and, in short, panicked.

You can also take comfort in the fact that your body is merely doing what the ancient cavemen did. In old, old, old times, back when men were hunters and gatherers and had nothing to worry about except the occasional beast to kill, or the occasional tiger attack on the village, there was the fight-or-flight mechanism. This mechanism was the body's way of coping with danger: it would release adrenalin so that the body could either fight against a threat or flee from it.

Today, adrenalin finds its use in athletes who want to run the extra mile, kick the extra goal, or make the extra point. For those of us who are not engaged in sports, adrenalin is still there, and it still exists to fill up the fight-or-flight mechanism, this time in the form of a panic attack. Adrenaline, if unused, can make one nervous, and can cause changes in the body that manifest in different ways.

Find out more about the natural ways to cure your anxiety and panic attacks!

How do you know that you are experiencing a panic attack?

1. You can tremble violently. The spurt of adrenalin delivered to your veins also serves to increase your blood pressure, and forces the heart to pump more blood at a faster rate. This is because the body is pressured to deliver as much oxygen to as many organs of the body at the fastest rate possible. Oxygen is important in moving the muscles: the more oxygen in your muscles, the faster you will move, and the greater the stress you can endure. This is most apparent in situations where people have to respond to danger by moving certain things: if your house is on fire, you can probably move your giant television set on your own, thanks to adrenalin.

2. You can feel like vomiting. As more blood is drawn toward major organ systems involved in the fight-or-flight mechanism, less blood is devoted to feeding the digestive system. This can make you lose your appetite, or even throw up your food.

3. Your heart rate is extremely fast. If you are fit, athletic, and used to workouts, a quicker heart rate may not make a difference to you; but for people who do not exercise regularly, or for people with heart conditions, the increased heart rate brought about by a panic attack can actually lead to a heart attack.

4. Increased heart rate can also make you feel shortness of breath and a stabbing pain in your chest. You might feel that something heavy and large is on your ribs and compressing it. You might also start clutching at your heart while your panic attack happens. The key is to take deep, slow breaths to slow your heart rate down and keep yourself from losing breath.

5. With shallow breathing and a fast heart rate, you can draw oxygen away from your brain. If you are experiencing a panic attack, you can also feel dizzy.

6. As more blood is drawn into your muscles, you can appear pale, and you can feel colder. Some people undergoing a panic attack will often break into a cold sweat, and feel a slice of cold smash up from their backs, and through their napes.

7. If you stop trembling, you can find your body engaging in habitual movements that can allow it to exhaust its extra supplies of energy. A panic attack, as a result, can make you start biting your nails, clapping your hands, tapping your feet or wriggling your toes.

Learn more about the powerful and proven techniques of the Panic Away program!