Anxiety Attack Symptoms
If you’ve ever experienced anxiety panic attacks, then you know that they can strike at any time. Often they are very intense and terrifying. Sufferers report that they sense a surging feeling of fear and terror wash all over them.
Disturbing sensations such as derealization and depersonalization often occur during attacks. Many sufferers dread that something bad is going to happen during an attack.
People who suffer from panic disorder and agoraphobia are more likely to suffer from a panic attack. Although many sufferers of agoraphobia can go about their daily lives, there are some who have great diffculty in dealing with everyday life.
Agoraphobia sufferers may avoid places that are difficult to escape from like a crowded mall or an elevator. The fear of being seen to have a panic attack is enough to put them off from certain situations.
It can be difficult to understand why attacks occur however they are usually the body’s own stress response system being activated. In caveman times when humans hunted prey, the stress response was vital to man’s survival.
The stress response triggers the adrenal glands releasing adrenaline and cortisol. This helped man prepare for an attack. Our brain chemistry has remained mostly unchanged even after thousands of years.
Many scientists believe that the stress response is redundant in the modern world. The problem is that in modern day society, the stress response is triggered too often.
In modern day society getting mauled by a lion is pretty unlikely but the stress response could save you from danger such as a car accident. The negative is that excessive production of hormones such as adrenaline can be damaging for the mind and body. And this can lead to mental illnesses.
Anxiety disorders such as agoraphobia make life difficult to manage. Luckily there are treatments available for anxiety disorders. Moreover, therapies like hypnosis and CBT are effective at treating anxiety and depression.
