Feeling anxious, worried, fearful from time to time is a human trait; these are feelings we've all witnessed at some point of time in our lives. Anxiety is a part of human life. As an evolutionary mechanism, it helps us to cope with stress and unexpected situation.
When the anxiety gets out of control and takes on the form of an exaggerated and irrational fear, then it can be called an anxiety attack. An anxiety attack is a sudden, uncontrollable surge of overwhelming and irrational fear that often grips us without warning or any logical or apparent reason. Most anxiety attacks usually last for 10 to 15 minutes, though in the extreme cases, can last for days to months. An anxiety attack is far greater in intensity than a mere feeling of being anxious or stressed out, which can be day to day occurrences.
Statistically, 1in 75 people in the world experience some form of anxiety attack at some point in their life.
An anxiety attack is usually accompanied by a very strong urge to escape from the immediate surroundings or where the attack begun. Most patients of anxiety attacks report a shortness of breath, an irrational fear of immediate death, loss of control and sanity, and a general feeling of impending doom.
Usually, if you suffer from an acute phobia, you will experience an attack as a response to the phobia trigger. For instance, people afraid of swimming (even when they know how to swim) will experience severe anxiety if they are thrown into a swimming pool. Often, in the case of chronic anxiety, anxiety attacks form a chain, with one leading to the other.
In terms of duration, an attack can last anything from one minute to ten. These 10 minutes of an attack, however, are often described by sufferers as the longest minutes of their lives, and can easily be the most disturbing and traumatizing minutes of one's life. During an anxiety attack, firstly, there is a release of sudden, irrational fear that triggers the release of excessive adrenaline. This extra adrenaline in turn, triggers the flight-or-fight response - an evolutionary mechanism that helps prepare the body for physical activity in response to a sudden and oppressive situation. As a result, the heart rate increases dramatically and breathing becomes difficult, and is usually accompanied by mild to heavy sweating. Often, a person starts hyperventilating during an anxiety attack, i.e., breathe in rapidly at an abnormal rate. Hyperventilation causes lowered carbon dioxide levels in the lungs and blood, which can lead to dizziness, numbness, nausea, or lightheadedness.
An anxiety attack can be a serious medical condition. If you believe you suffer, or have suffered from such attacks in the past, please do not hesitate to seek professional medical help. Anxiety related disorders can usually be treated very easily through a combination of psychotherapy and medications. Remember to take things easy and learn to relax - stress is, after all, one of the major causes of anxiety.
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