Most people will suffer from anxiety everyday, usually without even realizing it. Whenever you start a new job, or go on a date or just going out for a night out with some friends, there is always a small degree of anxiety. For some however anxiety controls their lives and limits their full potential and happiness. If this is you, then you may want to know how to deal with anxiety attacks effectively.
Firstly, lets define a few terms. In general anxiety can be defined as as a sense of worry and fear which manifests itself as physical and emotional components. An anxiety attack is a mysterious, mounting physiological sense of fear, apprehension and worry. In fact panic attacks are difficult to explain especially if you have not experienced one yourself, however you can identify an attack through some of the following symptoms.
• Trembling
• Sweating
• A sense of overwhelming fear
• A sense that you may be going insane or that you are dying
• Chest pains or stomach pains
• Confusion
• Irritability
Or any number of unpleasant feelings. The fact is panic attack sufferers experience their attacks in unique ways, as no two individuals are ever alike, no panic attack sufferer is exactly alike.
The most common type of anxiety is a general anxiety disorder. This kind of disorder affects about 3% of the population and many people will not even realize they have it. People who suffer from this are worried about everything. They constantly focus on things that could go wrong. They often live with a knot in their stomach and become unhappy, persistent and worn out with life. Some physical symptoms include irritability, a lack of concentration, sleep disorders and fatigue. If this sounds like you, you need to seek help as soon as possible.
Another type of anxiety is social anxiety, and many people suffer from this also. The social anxiety sufferer is afraid of being judged negatively, either perceived or real and will go out of their way to avoid social situations. This can lead to an unhappy and unfulfilling life.
Anxiety disorders are a precursor to anxiety attacks. There are many treatments available that deal specifically with the attacks themselves but if you really want to rid yourself of unpleasant feelings you will need to focus on the undering issues in your life.
The common treatments for anxiety attacks fall into 3 broad categories. The first is cognitive behavioral therapy, which teaches the sufferer how to change their thoughts by analyzing their thinking and teaching them to combat any negative thoughts.
The second is exposure therapy. This type of therapy results the sufferer to anxiety producing stimulus in small increments, so allowing them to grow more tolerant to whatever it may be causing them distress.
The third is mediation, this is usually used in conjunction with one of the other two types of treatment and will help deal with the symptoms caused by anxiety attacks on a neurological level. There are many different types and the most common you will find are serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRI's) and Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOI's)