45 years
Is the anxiaty attack can be deadly ? I mean heart burn palpitations fear short breath and other depression symptoms .thk u
Sep 10, 2014
It is perfectly normal for anyone to be subject to brief episodes of intense anxiety from time to time, and a considerable number of people experience one or two anxiety attacks over the course of their lifetime. Anxiety attack disorder, however, is suspected when these attacks occur frequently or persistently, to the extent that they impair normal daily functioning, or the affected individual develops fear of getting them. Once established, anxiety attack disorder can be very debilitating.
Anxiety attack disorder generally starts with one unexplained attack that causes the individual to become concerned. As other attacks recur, fear of having anxiety attacks, what they stand for, what the associated symptoms mean, and the consequences of those attacks and symptoms, build up. This escalation of fear is often the catalyst that precipitates the attacks, causing the individual to be seemingly caught in a vicious cycle of fear then panic, then more fear, then more panic, and so on.
An anxiety attack is described as a abrupt unexpected attack of fear, terror, or feelings of impending doom that strike without previous warning and for no obvious reason. This strong sensation or feeling can also be accompanied by a number of other symptoms, including physical and emotional symptoms:
Emotional symptoms of anxiety
Feelings of apprehension or dread
Trouble concentrating
Feeling tense and jumpy
Anticipating the worst Irritability
Restlessness
Watching for signs of danger
Feeling like your mind’s gone blank
Physical symptoms of anxiety
As a product of the body’s fight-or-flight response, anxiety produces various physical symptoms, which can be easily mistaken for a medical illness, like heart disease. They may visit many doctors and make numerous trips to the hospital before their anxiety disorder is discovered.
Common physical symptoms of anxiety include:
Pounding heart
Sweating
Stomach upset or dizziness
Frequent urination or diarrhea
Shortness of breath
Chest pain
Numbness or tingling in the limbs or entire body
Chills or hot flushes
Tremors and twitches
Muscle tension
Headaches
Fatigue
Nausea
Dizziness
Insomnia
A feeling of being detached from the world (de-realization)
Fear of dying
An anxiety attack can last anywhere between a few moments to 30 or more minutes. Commonly, with subsequent attacks following, the overall anxiety attack episode progressively grows much longer. Even though the attack episode eventually ends, it’s common for the symptoms and after effects of an attack to linger for hours or even days, depending upon the severity of the attack.
Anxiety attack disorder is often misunderstood. Many sources claim that anxiety attack disorder is genetically or biologically caused, or both, because it commonly occurs in families. It is true that anxiety disorders do have a biological component, but the biological component is a consequence of our behaviors, not the initiating factor of those behaviors. Moreover, despite the observation that anxiety attack disorders commonly run in families, this is due to environmental factors rather than genetic factors. Factors that precipitate anxiety disorders are learned, and therefore are behavioral and NOT genetically inherited or biologically caused. As such, they are modifiable and amenable to change. Anxiety attack disorder is thus fully reversible. For optimal results, anxiety attack disorder should be managed early. Conditions allowed to linger often become more complicated, and consequently, more difficult to treat.
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