About Anxiety Attacks

Anxiety attacks usually come on suddenly with no warning, either while awake or during sleep, usually lasting for about 30 minutes. An individual having an anxiety attack may feel unexpectedly afraid or fearful. Other feelings may include a fear of imminent doom or a fear of losing self-control. Some individuals may also temporarily lose a sense of reality. Some people may only have a few anxiety attacks over their lifetime, while other have them frequently. Individuals who have frequent anxiety attacks are likely suffering from a panic or anxiety disorder.

Causes of Anxiety Attacks

• Anxiety attacks may be caused by serious stress associated with a difficult situation, such as a car accident. For individuals who have anxiety attacks triggered by a specific event, the anxiety attacks go away when the situation is resolved. However, often panic attacks occur for no apparent reason at all. Some individuals may inherit the tendency to have anxiety attacks from their parents. Others may have panic attacks because of brain malfunctions that trigger the body's fight-or-flight reaction without reason.

Physical Symptoms

• Physical symptoms of an anxiety attack include a pounding heartbeat, chest pain, dizziness, tremors, sweatiness, facial flushing, faintness and tingling or numb hands. Also, an individual having an anxiety attack may feel nauseated and have stomach cramps. He may also have difficulty swallowing and may feel either chilled or flushed. The sufferer may also feel as though he cannot breath and that he is having a heart attack.

Fear of Anxiety Attacks

• Many individuals who have an anxiety attack will develop a constant fear of having another anxiety attack. This fear of having repeat attacks may actually trigger more anxiety attacks. Some will become so fearful that they may be afraid to leave their house and develop agoraphobia. Others may develop phobias such as a fear of bridges or spiders.

Panic Disorder

• Individuals who regularly have anxiety or panic attacks may have an anxiety disorder or panic disorder. According to the NIH, approximately 6 million people have a panic disorder, most of them women. Anxiety attacks often begin sometime between the late teens years and the early thirties. Some individuals develop an anxiety disorder after a life-changing event such as the death of a family member, new baby or after enduring sexual or physical abuse. Panic disorder can be disabling for those individuals who develop a fear of going out in public or fear of certain situations because they are constantly afraid they will have another anxiety attack.

Diagnosis and Treatment

• Anxiety attacks are difficult to diagnose because many individuals who have anxiety attacks believe that there is something physically wrong with them such as a heart problem. Individuals may frequent emergency rooms and see multiple doctors before a proper diagnosis is made. Often panic disorder is accompanied by depression, alcoholism and drug use. Panic disorder can be treated with medication and psychotherapy. Most commonly, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are prescribed to alleviate anxiety attack symptoms.