Aug

21

Panic & Anxiety

Posted by Sarah R

August 21, 2008 |

http://techzoogle.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/panic%20button.jpgFor a few weeks, on Thoughtful Thursdays, I’m going to address anxiety and panic, and the disorders that accompany them.  I don’t believe that the conditions are becoming more common, but I do believe the diagnoses are becoming more readily assigned to those seeking help. Both are being diagnosed more and more often and myths surrounding the conditions that I’d like to set some things straight.

First: Anxiety is different than fear.

When you are afraid, your fearfulness is directed towards an outside entity or situation. When you are anxious the focus is more than likely internal instead. It seems to be a response to something distant, even vague and quite possibly unknown. Anxiety affects your whole being causing a psychological, behavioral & physiological reaction. Rather than leaving all anxiety treatment up to medication, a patient must be willing to address all three aspects of the anxiety:

  1. Change how you talk to yourself. This “self-talk” can disrupt your entire life,
  2. Reduce the way your body physiologically reacts to anxiety, and
  3. Stop avoiding the anxiety-causing situations.

We’ll address these at a later date, but for now I’d like to go back to the issue at hand; anxiety.

Second: Panic attacks are real. There are many different levels of anxiety, from a smidgen of worry to full-blown panic attacks. Panic attacks may bring about certain reactions in particular situations.

  • shortness of breath
  • heart palpitations
  • shakiness
  • sweating
  • fear of “going crazy” or being “out of control”
  • numbness
  • fear of dying
  • hot flashes
  • chills
  • nausea or “abdominal distress”
  • feeling of choking

If you encounter a situation which induces these feelings, on more than one occasion, you should address your primary care physician. Next week we’ll spend some time dissecting general panic disorder in comparison to panic attacks. Stick around for some more fun!


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