Your pulse pounds, your breath comes shallow and fast, and suddenly the world feels dangerous. A sense of the surreal washes over you as your muscles tense preparing for fighting or fleeing danger. Your chest tightens, perhaps even aches.
This frightening experience is is not a heart attack -- it's an anxiety attack. Your body is perceiving danger, though there is no danger at that moment, and your body responds accordingly. A frightening and at times debilitating disorder, anxiety attacks are fairly common; however, thankfully, there are treatments.
Features
Anxiety attacks, also called panic attacks, can come on suddenly. There may or may not be precluding situations that trigger them. People with post-traumatic stress syndrome may experience an attack when something reminds them of trauma -- for instance, war veterans might be sensitive to the sounds of cars backfiring or fireworks. However, for most people suffering from panic disorder, these attacks occur without known triggers.
An anxiety attack can occur one time and then never occur again, or these attacks can become frequent, debilitating occurrences.
Symptoms
Rapid heartbeat or sense of impending doom or immediate danger are classic signs of anxiety attack. Other symptoms include sweating, trembling, hyperventilating, visual disturbances and even chest tightness or pain, or pain elsewhere in the body.
Identification
Since chest pain and tightness from anxiety attacks easily mimic heart attack, or could in rare situations even bring on heart attack (in individuals with pre-existing heart trouble), it is important to get an accurate diagnosis and rule out other problems. Doctors may give people exhibiting these symptoms thorough examinations and tests even if the patient is known to suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome or has suffered from anxiety attacks in the past.
Treatment
Anti-anxiety medicines (sedatives such as diazepam) or antidepressants and therapy are the main forms of treatment for this condition. Therapy usually focuses on pinpointing past events, if any, that might be contributing to current symptoms. In addition, therapists usually help anxiety-sufferers find positive methods of coping with anxiety-provoking situations or thoughts. Attacks might stop after just a short treatment, though some people need therapy indefinitely.
Considerations
With treatment, many develop ways of dealing with an attack when it happens or warding anxiety attacks off completely. How well individuals respond to treatment depends on a variety of factors.
Exercise and a balanced diet helps ease stress and may especially benefit those who suffer anxiety attacks.
The fear of having another attack can predispose a person to having one. This cycle is addressed in treatment.
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