Dealing With Anxiety Disorder Symptoms
Dealing With Anxiety Disorder Symptoms
How do you know you are experiencing an anxiety disorder? Your heart rate is increased, you are sweating, you feel extreme fear and vulnerability…but are you sure it’s just a panic attack? We say “just” because a panic attack can’t harm you, but there exists other ailments which might have some of these same anxiety disorder symptoms, and they could. These other ailments might be very serious, so it’s important right at the start to determine exactly what it is you have.
It is imperative that you check with your physician before deciding to take any action to determine exactly what may be going on. Anxiety disorder symptoms usually start slowly and then build up over time and become more intense. Eventually, it will become an obsessive part of your life.
Since it will tend to feed upon itself and grow, it will also create an increased sensitivity in the sufferer to the point where the expectations themselves feed the growth and a terrible cycle is born. The best solution would be if the individual were capable of developing enough self awareness to separate themselves from the panic attack (“I am not that panic attack.”). Then, by having become the observer and not the attack itself, they can proceed to calm down the effects it has had on the body with slow breathing, Yoga, meditation, or many other techniques.
The bottom line for dealing with many anxiety disorders is, after all, just that; becoming more aware of your thinking patterns and thoughts. Learning to separate yourself from your thoughts is made easier if you stop for a moment to consider that if you are thinking about something, then that something has to be something “else,” not you.
It’s a little like the trick of an eyeball not being able to see itself, but through a reflection can. Similarly, the mind can “reflect” a thought and thereby see that they and the thought are indeed not the same. Once this is done, the mind has great potential power over what to do with that thought without any consideration or confusion of the self.
All of this has been discussed for ages. It is nothing “new.” Philosophers and great religious leaders have discussed this phenomena in many different ways and it all comes down to the same thing: awareness and honesty. It is important to awaken, open your eyes, and be totally honest with yourself.
A common response to an anxiety is to “tough it out,” repress it, deny it and it will go away. The truth is just the opposite. Doing these things only give the anxiety more strength, not less. It is better here, as elsewhere in life, to deal head on directly with them. Another technique to gain power over these anxieties or obsessions is to name them. Put a face on them. By separating yourself from them you can gain the upper hand, and if they are defined more clearly it makes it easier for you to do that.
Certainly there are many situations where some individuals will just not be capable of approaching their distress in this way, for whatever reasons. So for that as well as the possibilities that something more serious than an anxiety attack is what’s happening, the first course of action should be to seek professional help. Medication with therapy is usually the best recourse for those who are most in need, while medication alone is never a good idea.
Keep your eye on the ball. Even when you can’t see the ball.
What IsThe Hidden Danger of Sleep Panic Attacks?
Why Sleep Panic Attacks Can Be Harmful
Sleep panic attacks, when they occur, are extremely intense and frightening. The sense of helplessness, surprise and raw fear that accompanies these episodes can be more intense than when experienced during the hours you are awake, partly out of the added element of surprise which frequently is part of it.
The most common, immediate symptoms of sleep panic attacks is an accelerated heart rate, sweating and breathlessness. Being awakened by these symptoms, often with heart palpitations as well, is extremely frightening and will cause many to believe they are having a heart attack.
Most sleep panic attacks are symptomatic of a form of anxiety disorder and are not related to any physical anomaly or cause. When this disorder is experienced during wakefulness, it generally comes on progressively, perhaps starting with a sense of general unease. It can then escalate until it becomes a full fledged panic attack with all the irrationalities, fears and physical discomforts which are associated.
But when it occurs while you are sleeping, you are suddenly awakened after it has reached full throttle and this suddenness intensifies the feelings, making a totally awful situation even worse. And that is isn’t the worst part of it.
Panic attack disorders generally are repetitive in nature; that is they will reoccur without much notice. One of the most insidious aspects of the disease is that part of its persistence depends on it becoming habitual. This habitualization is further strengthened by the individual’s fear of the panic attack itself reoccurring. There is an unfortunate irony in this, but it just makes it more difficult to overcome.
Sleep panic attacks can worsen this situation because once one occurs an individual may well fear sleep and consequently deprive themselves of required rest while adding force and substance to the attacks. What the individual does to deal with the attacks is extremely important and a misstep at the start can lead to a worsening of the situation instead of its improvement.
Medications, for example, can be very dangerous and a poor choice unless prescribed by a competent physician. There is a wide range of choices from beta blockers to narcotics and anti-depressants, but choosing the wrong one by yourself can be very dangerous. All drugs will have side effects, including addiction, and ultimately these may make the condition more intractable. Seeing a licensed practitioner immediately after having a sleep panic attack or any, for that matter, is a primary recommendation.
The sleep panic attack will occur during the early stage of REM (Rapid Eye Movement). Dreams occur during the later stages, Therefore, dreams are not what precipitates these attacks, as many people will believe. In fact, once these episodes begin, it will be the fear of their repetition which will most likely pave the way for their continuation.
It is very important to understand some basic premises concerning panic attacks, in general. First, although we could call it a disease, the fact is that having them does not mean you are physically or even mentally ill. It’s like the difference between not being able to breathe (inability), and simply not breathing (incapability) even though you are actually able. It is not a mental illness which is causing the incapability but a combination of habitualized reactions usually derived from poor coping mechanisms of one’s daily life.
Of course this is not the case for all people. Some people have physiological problems and others have serious psychological conditions. But just based on the numbers, most sufferers of panic disorders today will not fall into those categories. That means that in order to recover from having these attacks, most people will need to approach it from the viewpoint of breaking the habitual supports and of looking squarely at what the attack really is, not letting it fool you into thinking it can actually harm you, and thereby weakening it until it no longer is an issue.
This can be accomplished with a combination of medication and therapy, or just therapy, but not just medication. While lessening the power of these sleep panic attacks and making them disappear, one can find immediate improvement, even while still experiencing them, by simply remembering that they (the person) are not the panic attack; that the attack is a lie, that they are not sick or dying.
Practicing and developing some mind control will have additional benefits. Not only will it eventually relieve one of this particular anxiety disorder, but it will strengthen your self confidence and enable you to learn better how to cope with other aspects of your life that need you to take firmer control
What is Anxiety Disorder?
What is Anxiety Disorder?
What is anxiety disorder? Anxiety disorder is really nothing more than a set of reactions and habits which may have very real merit in certain situations but which are experienced in situations in which they have no use or merit. When one is in a dark parking garage and feels that they are being followed, the reflexes that lend our muscles the strength to run or fight like an animal and the psychological condition that transforms us from rational creatures to beings driven by our most primal desire to survive are useful things. Those reflexes, however, are wholly inappropriate in most other situations.
Where our brains are concerned, the question “what is anxiety disorder?” begins at the amygdala. This part of the brain is responsible for setting into motion the responses to danger designed to keep us alive in dire situations. Unfortunately, this response, like all emergency responses, tends to override all others. “Thinking” one’s way out of a panic attack is a laborious activity that is oftentimes ineffective. Oftentimes, the best solution is just to ride it out and acknowledge it for what it is. Sometimes, catering to it—having a good, healthy jog, for instance—is the best remedy.
In our bodies, “what is a panic disorder?” is a very complex question. There are a host of substances secreted into the blood, principally adrenaline and related substances, which enable us to move faster, with more purpose and to focus with an incredible intensity on our surroundings. Unfortunately, when one has no real reason to run or fight, the sensation is one of utter fear. Without an outlet, these substances still stimulate our bodies but cannot be “burnt off” in the normal fashion. A common characteristic of a panic attack is, unlike real danger, there is no real indicator as to when the danger has been outrun or outfought.
Anxiety disorder, above all other things, is not a rarified condition. Many individuals feel varying degrees of this condition at different times in their life. When one loses their job or suffers a medical condition, for instance, this disorder is fairly common. Understanding the causes of it make it much more manageable. However, there are some causes of this disorder that are poorly understood. The good news is: there is one answer to this question that should lessen the fears of any sufferer.
The most accurate answer to the question “what is anxiety disorder?” is: Anxiety disorder is treatable. This disorder can be successfully treated and overcome and is no cause to, well, panic. Psychotherapy offers several treatments, both with medications and without, and regular doctors can help patients to develop healthy eating and exercise habits that can lessen the frequency and severity of symptoms such as panic attacks. No matter how horrible these symptoms become, there is no reason to feel that one is fighting them alone or in the dark. Medical science has invested a great deal of study into the mechanisms behind this disorder and help is readily available.
