Anxiety and Panic attacks!

So this is something I have really wanted to write about for a while now. I suffer from anxiety and I am starting to have frequent panic attacks. My first panic attack was over a year ago in a science lesson and even though I didn't know what was happening at the time I seemed to cope with it very easily. Ever since then a few of them have started without reason which has scared me and I have had some that have lasted for about 20 minutes.

So what are Anxiety/panic attacks:

A panic attack is an experience of sudden and intense anxiety. Anxiety is a feeling of unease, worry or fear. Everyone can feel anxious at some point in their life, but for some people it can be an ongoing problem.

What can cause them:

Anxiety and panic attacks have an unclear and unknown cause, yet are known to have a tendency to run in families. There also appears to be a connection with major transitions and happenings in the persons life. Severe stress can also cause panic attacks. Anxiety attacks tend to happen when your body goes into fight or flight mode, yet doesn't know which one to choose, which results in a panic attack.

So now we know that, what can trigger panic attacks:

Panic attacks can be trigged by many different things, but is often triggered by physical danger such as something almost hitting you. Yet they can be trigged by the situation that you may be in such as being in front of, or in a big crowd of people or being put on the spot. Another trigger of Panic attacks can be the thought of something that has happened or could happen. This is because what ever the thought is however big or small can create stress, and you could end up being really stressed about the situation that you technically think yourself into a panic attack.

So what are the symptoms and signs of a panic attack:

• Shortness of breath or hyperventilation
• A racing heart
• Chest pain or discomfort
• Trembling or shaking
• Choking feeling
• Feeling unreal or detached from your surroundings
• Sweating
• Nausea or upset stomach
• Feeling dizzy, light-headed, or faint
• Numbness or tingling sensations
• Hot or cold flashes
• Fear of dying, losing control, or going crazy

What can you do to control your panic attacks:

Breathing techniques: When I am having a panic attack I tend to start hyperventilating and to stop this I have to stop what I am doing and focus on my breathing and try to slow it down, doing this by breathing in through my nose and out through my nose. But when doing this I have to be wary as I start to feel faint when doing this.

Comfort: When having a panic attack I tend to think of something comforting or get someone to comfort me. A good thing to do is go to a different room/environment that you were in before and away from what ever what caused the panic attack.

Positive thoughts: Think positively, when having a panic attack you can think that you are in danger or that you might die, but remind yourself that it is an anxiety attack, you are not in danger, it can not harm you, it will pass and that you are in control.

I hope this has helped those of you that may have anxiety or those who wanted to know more about it as knowing this stuff has really helped me.

Some of the facts I used are from the NHS website.

Random and unneeded fact of the week:
I wrote this while listening to Pentatonix's albums.

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