What Is Anxiety Blog

What is a panic/anxiety attack and what are the symptoms?

what causes it? What do you experience? Can they be prevented?
thank you for answering
i reallt need to know about this

There is really no prevention, except therapy, and getting to the source of the problem.

There are many causes

* too much stress emotionally (making decisions, parents divorce, physical abuse, keeping a secret etc…)

* teasing or harassment at school and/or in public (bullying, peer pressure, societies standards etc…)

* genetics (family illness such as bipolar, schizophrenia etc…)

Panic/Anxiety attacks are different for different people

*Intense crying that is very spontanious and out of the moment

*Thrashing fits of tears or heated anger

* Complete silence and the person closes off completely from any other being

* I’ve had experiences where I’ve had an asthma attack, but I believe that’s a rare reaction

does yawning start a panic attack or a panic attack makes me yawn?

I notice i start yawning over and over and then i will start to feel a panic attack happen. Do i panic then yawn or yawn and then have a panic attack? It seems to be an odd symptom of panic attacks, but it never fails.When one happens the other is not far away.

yawning is your body’s way of telling you to get my oxygen in your brain. so either your are 1: already hyperventilating a bit as the panic attack starts and your brain tells you to yawn. then the panic attack goes full blown. or 2: already in a full blown panic attack and rapid breathing. your body is telling you to yawn to help slow down your breathing. the shallow quick breaths increases co2 and decreases o2 causing your blood to be more acidic. so i would say that when you start to feel panicky watch your breathing and take deep long breaths in w/ longer breaths out. good luck!

the symptoms of panic attacks are dizziness,hot flushes etc?

the list goes on,do people really feel these symptoms or do they imagine that they feel them?

Yes, panic attacks are very real and and extremely frightening. Doctors are not sure exactly why they occur when someone feels anxious but when they do, they hit like a truck, and induce not only the laundry list of horribly uncomfortable physical symptoms of being in a situation of extreme primal fear, but also an uncontrollable psychological feeling of absolute terror that you can't seem to make sense of and can't make go away. You really feel as if you are completely losing your mind and are just going to pass out and die even as your logic tries to convince you that can't happen and there is nothing to fear. And the only thing you can do is just try to breathe and wait for it to pass, which usually takes about 10-15 minutes or so and seems like an eternity at the time. It is one of the most terrifying things I personally have ever experienced.

What's the best way to deal with a panic attack?

I have them a lot and worry that the symptoms I'm feeling are really a heart attack. So that just makes me panic more. Or I'll worry about getting stomach aches, which will in turn CAUSE them and thus create a cycle of panic. Any tips?

Sit down and take nice slow deep breaths. Inhaling, count one thousand and one.. one thousand and two…. then exhale for the same count. And if you are having them often, I would consider seeing a doctor and try to find out why you are experiencing them so frequently. And you can always go in to the hospital and see someone for help while you are going through the attack.. they can assess you better then to be sure you aren't experiencing a heart attack. I would also look at the possibility of seeing a counsellor and trying to get to the root issue of your panic attacks. The mind is a powerful thing so you will need to learn how to use it to better heal yourself. If you would like to join a group of people who are learning to heal themselves, you certainly can. Go to http://groups.msn.com/PositivelyWell and tell them little softy sent you when you apply to join the group. We have message boards, online workshops throughout the month, and it is almost like joining a family.. we are very supportive of our members. I hope this helped you some.

Hyperventilating and muscle spasms when anxious, is this a panic attack?

I was really anxious last night and had uncontrollable muscle spasms, mostly in my stomach and then I started hyperventilating. Does this constitute a panic attack? Any advice on how to control these symptoms and to get calm again quickly?

Sounds like an anxiety attack. The advice given about the paper bag, and the advice about regulating your breathing by counting, are both good.

Given the connection between this question and your previous question about how not to have such pronounced negative reactions to upsetting situations, though:

I'd advise seeing a doctor or psychologist. Your symptoms, taken as a whole, are looking like you might have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Especially if you were abused or otherwise traumatized in childhood or adulthood.

PTSD is not a psychosis. Normal people get it, including soldiers who go to war. Sometimes also emergency med techs or doctors get it from seeing lots of people die. It is an anxiety disorder which often also causes depressive symptoms. It is *not* only found in those who deal with death. Anyone who is traumatized enough, including victims of abuse or assault, can get it.

Its symptoms include anxiety attacks, and highly intense emotional/physical responses to stressful stimuli which seem out of proportion to the present time. This is because the present stressor is connecting to the subconscious mind and setting off a big reaction which is based on some earlier trauma.

For example, my mother used to have anxiety attacks if she had to be in an urban decay zone at night. And she also avoided going downtown at night. This had no connection to the present, it was connected with a nasty assault she suffered in the downtown area of a big city at dusk.

And I used to have anxiety attacks whenever I had to deal with angry or verbally abusive customers. This isn't in connection with the customers. It's because from ages 6-8 I had an alcoholic relative in the house who used to get angry and verbally abusive when drunk, and then beat various family members.

People who have PTSD are often mislabeled as "depressive and anxious" as well as "overreactive, oversensitive, too thin skinned."

I cannot make this diagnosis since I am not a MD, so I might be mistaken. But if you do have PTSD, then your problems will not respond well to meds and will really improve as soon as you get the right therapy! It responds best to EMDR therapy.

What is it if you have a panic attck that lasts for multiple days?Is it considered a panic attack?

My friend has been experiencing the symptoms of a panic attck.But it has been going on for multiple days. Hes heart us always pounding and he is angry a lot, and he doesnt entirely know what to do.Im not even sure what the problem is but it sounds like a panic attck, but panic attcks generally last 10 minutes, not for multiple hours every day.

This is a very interesting question as I had my first panic attack at my job as a medical transcriber /triage nurse, et cetera for three cardiac surgeons. I was typing away, this being 1985, in Charleston, SC and had my first panic attack — the most horrific thing I have ever gone through, trust me. I was feeling like I was dying and I was worried only about my children and who would take care of them in the future.

Well, I was given Xanax slowly by one of the doctors and lied down on his sofa in his office. He had to give me doses of Xanax every so often to finally get me out of the attack. But I finally did and went home with my boyfriend, whom my doctor had called from our office.

A few days later, as I was making rounds in the hospital next door for admittances and such, I suddenly became faint and could not breathe. Luckily my other doctor at the office was right there speaking with a nurse and saw me. He had me sit down and breathe through a brown paper bag, thinking I was hyperventilating. Did not work of course. So I was wheeled to the ER and he met me there and began the Xanax (or another sedative of the same class) IV and had to keep pushing it very often. Why? Because my blood gasses had all gone out of whack and my electrolytes left my body, mainly potassium almost totally. He had to keep giving me the Xanax and watching my blood gasses and potassium, et cetera. Finally all my bloodwork was back to normal, even potassium. He had my boyfriend take me home, normal once again after only an hour or so, and watch me for the night. Anyway, it happened once again and I was hospitalized for five days or so. Nothing showed up. Honest! So I was placed on Xanax for these occasions in the future and it has been a miracle drug for me. Sometimes I never take a Xanax for a month; but when I do have a panic attack, it will take almost 20 milligrams to fight it off. If I would take that much without being in the throes of an attack, it would wipe me out mentally for a long while!!! But when you use it for what it is intended, you will be so happy to have it on hand for just those times. I must back up here to tell you that both of my doctors seeing me during the panic attacks said that they had to give me so much Xanax to make me "normal," they were really afraid for me. But they said all it did was make me turn back to my normal self. And I can truly say the same, I was not drugged at all and I just felt completely normal. They were quite surprised I did not get "high" or "crazy" but I did not at all!!!!

Anyway, that is my experience with panic attacks. I can believe that every one of us could have a different type of panic attack, but if you take the Xanax and do not become "high," then it is the nuts!!! But take it without having a panic attack will only make you weird, high and if you like that, then you are not using it for a panic attack. And a doctor will know for sure!!!! So do not abuse a drug that is a miracle worker for us with panic attacks who really need them, okay?!!!

Did caffeine cause me to have a panic attack?

24-30 hrs before my attack, I had consummed 4 cups of irish cream coffee, one cup after the other, and as always some diet coke. Then today, I consummed about 3 glasses of diet coke as well. I have only slept about 3-4 hrs.

So here's what happened. Last night, I was trying to sleep, but was VEY irritable and feeling paranoid because I work in the oncology dpt of a hospital and started feeling paranoiud about having cancer and going through chemo. I have never felt this way before, and i have been there for 2 months. Then today I was helping my bf out with a research paper, and I just cracked. I started yelling and then it turned to crying and then boom! panic attack. The worst symptom of it all was that my lips went numb.

I have had maybe 4-5 attacks before during my teens, but that was related to a death in the family.

so is it the caffeine that caused this? The paper was health related by the way…
(sorry for the typos, Im still feeling a little anxious)
Just_two_01:

I actually have never had a migraine, and I never get headaches either ( I guess I'm lucky). The numbness moved from my lip to my left eye.
I usually dont have trouble sleeping, I have been having more caffeine than usual lately though.
As for the melatonin, you're right, it's a sleep aid..and a simpler way to get it is through warm milk. Sounds gross, but true

I'm starting to feel more at ease…but Im just shocked that caffeine can ahve this effect on me, as it's never done this to me before.

And thanks for all your responses so far, I really appreciate everyone's input.

I think that it was probably all of those factors combined. If you are prone to panic attacks, you really should avoid caffeine. Each of the factors alone normally wouldn't bother you, but when you combine stress (work), lack of sleep, and the large amounts of caffeine, you're bound to find trouble. Do you also suffer from migraines? The numbness in your lips sounds like an aura (a pre-migraine symptom… some people see flashing lights, blind spots, numbness, difficulty speaking, irritability, etc.) Sometimes I get agitated and anxious similar to a panic attack before a migraine. Did you have a headache afterwards? My best advice would be to stay away from caffeine and maybe take a Melatonin every night before bed. I read a study online that says that migraines and panic attacks can be greatly reduced by taking one Melatonin (natural sleep aid found at most drug & healthfood stores) before bed. It takes about 2-3 weeks for it to have an effect, but it does help… I used to have 2-3 migraines a month, now I only have that many in a year. It's natural, no side effects, and definately worth a try!

Good luck!

What are the symptoms of panic attacks?

Your heart beats faster and harder, you breathe faster or quicker, and you feel like your heart hurts you inside your body…
It is called Anxiety and you are scared that something is about to happen to you…
My mom has these things called Tachycardia's and it is similar to what you are describing…

who's has had a panic attack and what are your symptoms?

I have them all of the times during storms, big tests and when i'm around needles. I get light headed, headaches, hyperventilate, my nose bleeds and I cry a lot. When situations are really bad I black out.

LVH / Heart murmer / panic attack?

I'm 42 & previously very healthy.
Went to ER with sudden h/attack symptoms - they said panic attack & high bp,
went to GP she said stress & high b/p - also a heart murmur.
Went to Cardiologist - diagnoised LVH.
a) Is there a connection between Panic / LVH / Heart murmur?
b) Do you think it was really a panic attack - never had one before?
c)Cardio did not mention h/murmur no one has before - do they come and go?
d) Been on Cardizem for a month and still have high b/p and chest pains - Cardio just increased it from 180mg to 300mg - is it normal to still have chest pains?

Thanks I am new to this medical world!

a) No, Left ventricular hypertension is caused by chronic hypertension.

b) Its possible I would need to know more of the symptoms

c) NO it is still there, whether it be mitral, aortic, or Tricuspid. You would need an Echo-cardiogram to confirm.

d) That depends on its cause- My opinion is NO, lowering your blood pressure will not alieve the underlying cause- you need a stress test and an Echo-cardiogram. We usually give Cardizem to lower heartrates. I would suggest a Beta Blocker such as Toprol.

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