Signs Of An Anxiety Attack

Living in today’s fast-paced world can be overwhelming, and many individuals experience stress and anxiety at various points in their lives. The root cause of anxiety attacks is ‘Fear’. Recognizing the signs of an anxiety attack is crucial if you wish to live a peaceful and happy life, which these days has become alien to us.

In this article, we will discuss how to recognize those signs, their potential causes, and some useful tips that can assist you in the process of fighting against this cruel disease.

Let’s first recognize the signs of an anxiety attack.

1. Overwhelming and intense fear:

• You might feel an uncomfortable pressure in your chest, or abdomen.
• You might also feel pukish.
• The surge of panic would seem too much to bear for you.

2. Physical signs:

• You might feel an uncomfortable heaviness in your chest, or abdomen.
• You can also feel pukish.
• You can feel shortness of breath.
• Trembling, shaking, and sweating are some of the physical signs of an anxiety attack.
• Rapid heartbeat is a given.

3. Emotional Signs:

• You might feel detached from reality.
• You can feel fear of losing control or going crazy.
• You can probably feel overwhelming worry, overthinking, or sensing danger.
• It would be difficult to concentrate or focus on any task.

4. Behavioural changes:

• You’ll feel restlessness.
• You might want to avoid social situations.
• It might be difficult for you to express yourself.
• You might seek reassurance and validation from others.

If you feel any of these, chances are that you are going through an anxiety attack. I would suggest, if you feel the extent of any of these, please refer to a doctor. But if you feel this is truly an anxiety attack, you can then go ahead and reassure yourself by understanding the causes mentioned below.

Possible Causes of an anxiety attack

Once you realize the signs of an anxiety attack you need to then look at your life and check if any of these causes you can relate to:

1. Stressful life events:

   If you’re going through an anxiety attack, one of the possible causes of that is there is something that has changed in your life drastically. You got married and just had a baby, or just graduated, etc. These changes trigger your inner wounds.

2. Trauma:

   As a child, we all carry some wounds which becomes a trauma. If I hit on your hand once, it won’t affect you much, but if I keep hitting on it, your hand might get wounded. And when that happens, until it heals, whoever hits on it, or even just touches it, you’ll feel intense pain. This is called trauma in simple words. When you have to go through something repeatedly in your life. Whoever touches that side of you, brings you anxiety, and the more it repeats, the more traumatic it becomes for you.

   

3. Genetics:

   Well, genes also hold the memory of how your ancestors responded to their traumas. If it’s in the family, chances are, you might catch it too.

4. Medical conditions:

   Medical conditions such as thyroid disorders, cardiovascular conditions, respiratory conditions, neurological disorders, hormonal imbalances, and chronic pain conditions can also give you anxiety attacks.

5. Excessive use of substances:

   Stimulants and substances also contribute to your triggering of anxiety attacks. Excess of these substances such as caffeine, energy drinks, alcohol, drugs, some foods, synthetic substances, and medicines prescribed for the nervous system may have anxiety as a side effect.

Now comes the most important segment of this article, which is,

How to manage your anxiety attacks!

After you understand the causes and signs of an anxiety attack, it is your responsibility to go further and wipe it out from the roots. Use the below techniques to do so.

1. Practice deep breathing EVERY SINGLE DAY:

Breathing is the first step towards sorting out any mental health problems. Even if someone just frustrates you, breathe. Slow breathing especially can calm your nervous system, and lower your heart rate and blood pressure. It can bring your stress from Level 10 to at least 4.

2. Use grounding techniques:

Go for the spa, pen down your thoughts in a journal, and do a mindful observation of the things around you. Also, follow the 5-4-3-2-1 technique, which is to identify and name five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. This engages multiple senses and helps anchor you in the present moment.

3. Establish a routine:

It might take a whole process to inculcate this into your life, but it won’t happen until you start. The more the uncertainty, the more anxiety you experience. Setting up a routine will help you manage the experiences that give you anxiety. Anxiety pain will occur but if you know it is about to occur, that will change the whole game. You can know how to handle such a situation as you would get time to plan it out.

4. Regular Exercise:

Exercise is a must and it follows the same instructions as establishing a routine does. You have to begin at least to make it a part of your life. Engaging in physical activities has a positive effect on your mental well-being and not just this but the entire life is impacted positively. There is a whole other article on ‘Benefits Of Physical Exercise’ that you can read.

5. Limit Stimulants:

You have to limit caffeine and alcohol for starters, which has become a norm for us these days. Apart from these, if you take other stimulants, you need to stop now. No stimulants are good for your body and mind. If you’re taking any medications that have increased the signs of an anxiety attack within you, consult your doctor for the same.

6. Mindfulness and Meditation:

Relax, and meditate. Start from 5 minutes and increase it as much as you can with time. Meditation does wonders for your mind, body, and soul. It brings you clarity and peace. It helps you eliminate your traumas from the roots. This is a meditation technique suggested by Mahadev himself which you can refer to. There are various videos available for free on YouTube that you can refer to and do guided meditations. Incorporate this into your life and see the magic.

Firstly, recognizing the signs of an anxiety attack is the most vital, and then, consciously choosing to work on yourself is another crucial step you need to take. Until you willingly decide to work on yourself, these anxiety attacks won’t stop.

Secondly, learn to face your fears. This would be the most important tip you can follow to eliminate these anxiety attacks from your life. The more you run from your fears, the more traumatic you become and the more difficult it becomes for you to rise above it. Hence, always, and always, FACE YOUR FEARS!