Anxiety and panic attacks are getting very common these days. These attacks occur without any warning and have no specific time of occurrence. People who experience these symptoms feel like they’re dying or having a heart attack many times. It’s an experience of totally terror. Here’s a look at some of the anxiety and panic attack symptoms many experience:
- Increased Heartbeat
A very common symptom of anxiety or a panic attacks. A person suddenly feels that their heart is racing and they experience increased strength in their heartbeat. This was something that was very common for me and kept me from exercising, socializing, and enjoying many other aspects of my life.
- Weakness and Dizziness
When a person experiences an attack, they may feel weak and dizzy. This weakness and dizziness due to external stimuli could very well be a chronic issue that can lead to depersonalization. If it gets to this level a person begins feeling like they’re losing parts of their soul, and loses touch with their 5 senses all together. Also, depersonalization can feel like you’re living in a bubble all day and everyday.
- Feeling like this is the end
Many times I felt like THIS was the one that would get me. The bodily reaction to a situation, a person, a piece of news, or nothing at all can trigger the mental response of doom and gloom. Rest assured however that your conscious mind is simply cooperating with what your subconscious mind has perceived, nothing more.
- Feeling the sweat
A person suffering from these anxiety and panic attack symptoms may feel profuse sweating for no particular reason. The conscious mind may even be enjoying the experience however the subconscious mind (or inner child) may sense a deep threat and is therefore using all its means to get you out of the situation. The inner child does this so that you don’t experience the same level of ‘freeze’ or overwhelm you may have in the past.
- Chest pains
Sometimes chest pains also follow the anxiety and panic attack symptoms as the person is more susceptible to this after the sudden attack of terror. Though this occurs less often it is one of those frightening symptoms that a person can experience during a panic attack. If you’ve gone through this before share your thoughts in the comment section below.
- Difficulties breathing (shortness of breath)
This is the most common symptom of an anxiety or panic attack (here’s a YouTube video I made that explains it in detail). Every person that suffers from any type of anxiety disorder usually experiences breathing difficulties. A person feels like he is running out of breath and that may be followed by headaches or dizziness. The shortness of breath can also occur when the person is sleeping.
Timing and Occurrence of a Panic Attack
Panic attacks are often short and continue for around 10 to 15 minutes but there are many symptoms that may occur more often and last longer. A person may experience a headache which can last for 24 hours (or even much longer). A person that experiences a panic attack may suffer from panic disorder. It is a condition in which the person worries about having more panic attacks in the future, and as the timing and occurrence of these attacks are unknown this can make the person feel more apprehensive or depressed.
Reasons for a Panic Attack:
Panic attacks may be caused due to various reasons. A person may be suffering from any anxiety disorder, the most common of which is “generalized anxiety disorder”. There may be a sudden change in the lifestyle of a person due to which he may have started feeling more anxious and depressed. After starting a new job or maybe after receiving an overload of responsibility, a person may feel depressed. In most cases, this sense of depression and an anxiety disorder is a cause of panic attacks.
These anxiety and panic attack symptoms are also memory replaying themselves through the body followed by the mind. A panic attack can be a sudden recognition by the subconscious mind of something with the present or future environment that resembles something connected to a trauma from childhood. The panic disorder part happens when the conscious mind confirms a potential threat previously perceived by the subconscious mind.
Anxiety disorders are very common these days and an estimated result showed that over 6 million people in the United States are suffering from these disorders. Results also show that women are more susceptible to an anxiety disorder or panic attack than their counterparts.
The problem with an anxiety disorder is that this may lead and develop in families. A person is more likely to suffer from this disorder if he/she has this disorder in his/her family. However, epigenetics has revealed that it’s not so much the gene itself but rather the environments and beliefs of a person that turn on one gene rather than another. Therefore a person with the anxiety and panic attack symptoms isn’t so much a victim of their genetics but rather a victim of their core belief systems within their subconscious minds.
Overcoming these panic attacks:
Panic attacks are terrifying however they too are connected to a chapter in a person’s life, and can be healed. Anxiety and panic attack symptoms may feel like the main problem however, they are the effect of an underlying challenge not the cause. Once a person understands why their bodies and minds spur on panic and anxiety attacks they will begin opening themselves up to intuitive solutions. Often, allowing the anxiety and panic attack symptoms to move through you is an ideal way to diminish the known and unknown fears connected to them. However, this is easier said than done and requires practice.
In my own personal experience emotionally reframing my past traumas so that my subconscious mind no longer connected threat to what it sensed was key. Couple this with a few practical skills around using the conscious mind (Responding work) to send a clear message to the subconscious mind in the moment of these anxiety and panic attack symptoms and we have a powerhouse combination.
Do not get discouraged no matter where you are right now with your emotional and mental health. This is a phase, it will pass as soon as the fear around these symptoms dissipates and a new relationship is built with your body through your mind. You are a true warrior, always will be.
What are your anxiety and panic attack symptoms and how is your healing going? Share below.
The Anxiety Guy Podcast is one of the most popular mental health podcasts in the world with more than 6 million downloads alongside the health Anxiety Podcast Show. It has been selected as the top mental health and anxiety podcast on Apple 6 times, and has been listen as a top podcast for anxiety today on Psychology Today, Choosing Therapy, Better Help, Women’s Health, Marissa Peer and many more. To listen to any of the past episodes for free, check out this page.
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