Experiencing a Panic Attack

Posted on December 19, 2006
Filed Under Anxiety | Leave a Comment

It’s a day like any other. You could be at work or home, out for lunch, with other people or alone, maybe just reading a book, taking a walk, cooking dinner, or even asleep. Then all of a sudden you’re overcome by this intense fear, terrified of something forbidding lurking just beyond your senses.

Nothing whatever in the outside world has changed, and there is no rational explanation for these feelings, but yet you’re shaking, your heart is racing, and it’s hard to breathe. You feel light-headed, nauseous, and out of control. Some people feel like they’re “going insane” or even about to die.

You may have just experienced a panic attack. It can happen anytime, anywhere, and manifests itself as this instantaneous and intense fear which the body reacts to physically, by just as quickly releasing a flood of adrenaline into the bloodstream allowing you to respond to the perceived danger.

Only problem is – there’s no danger, but your body is still “pumped up” with no place to go. On top of that, you’ve been hyperventilating which causes a drop in the carbon dioxide levels of the lungs and blood making you even more dizzy, with numbness in your extremities. Deeper breathing to get more air just compounds the problem.

Often people become convinced they’re having a heart attack or stroke and go to the emergency room. Many will be confused, but try and ignore the symptoms, never realizing they just experienced a panic attack. That’s exactly the wrong thing to do, because panic attacks, while potentially disabling are a very treatable condition.

Once dismissed as nerves or stress, anxiety and panic disorders are becoming more and more common in modern life. A variety of approaches, including medication and therapy over some extended time period can help, but there other methods worth considering that have helped thousands of folks eliminate panic attacks completely.

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