Mothers seem naturally prone to anxiety panic attacks when they chronically worry about how their young ones will fare in the world. The baby can’t sit in the highchair because he might fall out. The toddler can’t attend school because he may come into contact with germs. The fifteen-year-old can’t attend a party with her peers because someone might offer her alcohol.

The twenty-one-year-old shouldn’t have her own car at college because she might get into an accident. Falling asleep at night might leave the family vulnerable to a break-in. What if someone coughs on her in the elevator? What if she has panic anxiety in the grocery store checkout line and can’t get out? Understanding panic attack anxiety is the first step toward recovery, experts say.

Many Americans wonder what the difference between healthy worry and chronic worry is. On one hand, California writer Dr. Beverly Potter explains, “Think of it as a mental fire drill, a ‘thinking through’ of things that potentially might happen. It’s good to think over what could happen and to have a contingency plan.

That is what productive and effective people do.” Yet, on the other hand, panic anxiety worrying can become a kind of “stuckness,” where worrywarts “get stuck identifying danger as they immerse themselves in a dread associated with the threat, which may be real or — more likely — imagined.”

Dr. Potter uses one story to illustrate the essence of anxiety panic attacks. One woman is madly waving her arms. Another woman asks her what she’s doing and the first woman says that she’s keeping the tigers away. “But there are no tigers here,” the second woman protests. “See, it’s working!” the first woman replies.

In essence, panic anxiety seems like a way of thinking to look out for all possibilities and plan everything out so one will be prepared for every situation. However, the anxiety attacks panic goes beyond the normal realm of healthy planning and is, instead, a morbid fixation on the worst case scenarios.

Without seeking cognitive behavioral therapy, sufferers of chronic anxiety panic attacks and panic attack disorder usually lose their ability to function in everyday life. After a few months, 10% of panic attack sufferers become housebound and are unable to leave (Agoraphobia).

After a few years, 30% of panicked patients can no longer meet job responsibilities or go to work everyday. Another 17% have become alcoholics and a whopping 40% have developed chronic depression. The majority of people who do not seek panic attack help suffer marital problems, reduce their travel and withdraw from their social lives. However, with treatment, over 70% of sufferers can find a panic attack cure.

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In this article we’re going to take a look at what you can do during a panic attack to help settle yourself down.

1. Firmly tell yourself to SLOW DOWN – Slow down your physical activity, and begin repeating calming phrases to yourself slowly. What this may be , is up to you. Sometimes saying something like ‘I’m going to be ok’ to try to reassure yourself, may actually incite more fear of not becoming ok. It may be easier to think about something to take your mind off it such as ‘2+2 = 4, 4+4 = 8, 8+8 = 16..’ etc.

2. If possible, light a candle, close your eyes and concentrate on the light of the flame. Remind yourself of the power you possess inside that burns like that flame.

3. Remind yourself that you are only fearing the negative thoughts in your mind – Usually there is no immediate physical threat to cause the panic attack. Just focus on your immediate physical safety.

4. Believe that you are bigger and stronger than your panic attack is – You may be feeling the panic attack currently, but know it won’t last forever. Allow yourself to feel and understand the fear but to know you can control it, even if you feel you can’t. Just tell yourself you can.

5. Know that you are over reacting – Remind yourself that things are not as bad as they seem. Take comfort in anything you can at this point whether it be the fact you’re wearing your favorite shoes or that you know you can leave in a few minutes if things don’t get better.

6. Affirmations that may help – Calm is available now. I am overreacting. I am quite SAFE; it’s just a perception that I’m not. Are these thoughts helpful to me as I LOVE MYSELF This comes from a part of me that hates myself, and I’m NOT going to let it win, no way.

7. Think about or appreciate nature – Go outside and look at trees, plants and animals. Think about all they endure and how much easier you have it.

8. Listen to happy music – Listen to music that always makes you happy, yet doesn’t necessarily make you feel excited. Something calm and soothing will help the most.

9. Keep a journal – Document when you’ve had panic attacks, what you think the triggers are and what you’ve done to cope. Keep track of what works. Think about the triggers and try to desensitize yourself from them.

10. Find a help line – If you can call a help line and let someone know you are having a panic attack may help. Remember, they are there to help and you can hang up at any time.

I have used these techniques personally with a moderate amount of success. I hope you have enjoyed this article.

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The symptoms of panic attacks are some of the most troubling and frightening feelings a human being can face. A panic attack is a distinct period of intense fear or discomfort that usually reaches a peak within a few minutes. Some of the symptoms include: 1) Pounding heart or accelerated heart rate, 2) Sweating, trembling, or shaking, 3) Feelings of choking, chest pain, or discomfort, 4) Nausea or abdominal distress, 5) Feeling dizzy, lightheaded, or faint, 6) Feelings of unreality of being detached from oneself. 7) Fear of losing control or going crazy, Fear of dying, 9) Numbness or tingling sensations, 10) Chills or hot flashes.
Not all of the above symptoms of panic attacks are present in each individual attack. Usually at least four are necessary to be considered a true panic attack. A panic attack can occur suddenly, without warning causing anxiety between attacks that another attack will occur at any time. When someone is having a panic attack they usually have a pounding heart. There may be chest pain and some people actually think they are having a heart attack. They may feel sweaty, weak, faint or dizzy. There may be tremendous fear that they losing control of their mind (going crazy) or that they are going to die. They also can have feelings of unreality or of being detached from themselves. Usually attacks only last a few minutes; however, the fear associated with the symptoms of panic attacks can be so profound that it may feel like the length of an attack is an eternity.
Not everyone who has a panic attack will go on to have more attacks. If they do then they may be diagnosed with Panic Disorder. Panic Disorder is estimated to affect 3 to 6 million Americans and is twice as common in women as in men. If a person is diagnosed with Panic Disorder it is important that they receive treatment as the condition can become very disabling. The symptoms of panic attacks can cause a person to avoid certain situations for fear that an attack may occur. For example if someone had an attack in a closed space like an elevator they may develop a fear of elevators. In the extreme, some people who experience panic attacks will not even leave their home. This is called agoraphobia.
Treating the symptoms of panic attacks in the medical model is generally a three pronged approach. First is education, second is therapy, and third is medication. Educating the suffer that some how their fight-or-flight response to danger is getting triggered in non threatening situations usually helps put their mind to ease. Letting them know that the attack is short lived and will not harm them also seems to help. Second, short-term therapy that focuses on relaxation and imagery techniques that can be used during an attack may also be helpful. Learning to know what sensations bring on the fight-or-flight response can help a sufferer calm down before they have a full-blown attack. Also dealing with the person’s fears about having another attack can also lessen the anxiety about panic attacks. Finally, if all else fails there is medication that can be prescribed that can help with the symptoms of panic attacks. Many times a sufferer will be prescribed medication and only take it when they feel like they may have an attack. Soon, just knowing there is something at hand that can bring them down from an attack allows them to be comfortable without taking the medication at all.
As frightening as a panic attack is for the sufferer, the symptoms of panic attacks respond well to education and even self-help. Often a person doesn’t need therapy. Rarely does a person have to take medication full time, if at all. This should be encouraging news to those of you who wondering “Why Me”. There is help and the prognosis is very good. Find what works for you.

Anthony Pace is the author of this article. If you would like to learn more about panic attack treatments, check out: http://www.my-product-reviews.com/symptoms_of_panic_attacks
Symptoms of Panic Attacks

<img src=”http://i664.photobucket.com/albums/vv5/pithoff/Anxiety/951860_stress_v_2.jpg”align=”left”>If you are trying to locate info with regard to the signs symptoms of panic attacks you might come across a list of a lot of different symptoms. There are 100’s of them. Many of the symptoms of an anxiety attack will resemble or mimic what you might think of as a different illness for example, an asthma attack or possibly a heart attack.

You have to be careful in self-diagnosing a panic or anxiety attack because they are non-life threatening, but the asthma attack or hear attack could have serious consequences. You see, a panic attack is similar to our body fight or flight response. When we are facing a fearful situation our adrenalin and stress hormones elevate and our bodies react with symptoms of panic or anxiety.

What makes an panic or anxiety attack different than fight or flight is that we are not exposed to any real<img src=”http://i664.photobucket.com/albums/vv5/pithoff/Anxiety/92296_the_stress_.jpg”align=”right”> threat and the symptoms can spontaneously appear. If you experience an attack while in your car for instance you run the risk of associating driving a car with your last panic attack. There is a real danger of developing a phobia of driving in response to you subconsciously trying to stay away from experiencing another panic attack.

If you think that you are having signs symptoms of panic attacks you should really try to control and treat them. There are a lot of ways to do this without having to be dependent on pharmacueticals. A number of programs are available on the web, I would say to start at this site and look at a few of the successful programs with money back guarantees: PanicAndAnxietyFreedom.com

Here is a small list of the more common signs symptoms of panic attacks:

1- Choking
2- Pounding heart
3- Sweating and shaking
4- A feeling like you are going to die
5- Terror
6- Difficulty breathing
7- Lightheadedness
8- Tingling fingers or toes
9- Chills
10- Vomiting

<img src=”http://i664.photobucket.com/albums/vv5/pithoff/Anxiety/827741_easy_street.jpg”align=”left”>Take control of your life and your symptoms by stopping your panic attacks by learning ways to treat them. Take control and live life again.

Author Bio

I seriously feel that if you’ve never been unfortunate enough to have experienced a panic attack then, it would be very difficult, if not impossible to realise just how overwhelmingly frightening they really are. On the other hand, if you have been in the unfortunate position of experiencing one first hand, then I doubt that you could ever forget just how brutal they are.

So what are the most common panic attack symptoms? Well, first of all you must appreciate that when you’re in the middle of one, the last thing on your mind is making mental notes about your current physiological and mental state. But thinking back to my panic days, the following list springs to mind:

1) Dry mouth.
2) Tensing of my stomach muscles.
3) A slight feeling of nausea.
4) Sweaty hands and feet.
5) People used to tell me that my face went as white as a sheet.
6) Pounding heart.
7) Shallow breathing.

There were possibly more than this but that’s all I can recall at this moment in time.

As I became more used to experiencing panic, I became able to spot the above symptoms and in doing so was then able to distract myself one way or another in order to prevent an attack reaching its peak. I will add though, that, for me, using distractions to ward off panic was a very hit and miss affair and it did nothing to reduce the massive amounts of anxiety that I had to deal with.

Now, when the panic peaked, it used to feel similar to someone hitting me hard in the chest with a soft hammer repeatedly. And these “hammer” blows would “echo” right through my body all the way down to my feet. Whilst this was happening, I would experience an overwhelming level of raw fear. In my case, the panic attacks only seemed to last for a few moments but they may have lasted longer in real time.

Once the panic had subsided, I would feel very light-headed and “not there” for at least thirty minutes afterward, sometimes, over an hour. And, if the truth be known, I wouldn’t feel completely myself for the rest of that day.

The panic attack symptoms that I’ve described above were more or less what I used to experience. But please be aware that it’s sometimes difficult to attempt to describe physical sensations using only words. I’m also quite sure that other sufferers will have encountered different experiences when they come face to face with their panic.

I lived for all too many years with panic and anxiety as my close companions. They ruined my life by taking my love for life and replacing it with constant dread and fear. Panic and anxiety are both curable. I conquered mine and my lust for life returned just like it had never been away.

To find out how I eliminated panic attacks completely, please visit my panic attack website.