Do Not Let Superstition and Embarrassment Keep You away From Treatment Of anxiety Attack.

Anxiety is a known phenomenon. We all have known what is to be anxious some time or the other. We have all known what anxiety is on the day our examination results were to be declared. We have known what is to be anxious when we were about to meet somebody we wanted to please, but did not know how to. We are always anxious to do better. In such cases anxiety has been a boon, as it had goaded us into action and we have tried and done better.

However, if you have anxiety disorder, the same anxiety that had helped you to do better earlier, will now disrupt your life totally. Anxiety to do better had helped you to push forward. Anxiety disorder will take you backward, keep you from coping. So what really is anxiety disorder or anxiety attack?

The difference between general anxiety and anxiety disorder are as follows:

Anxiety Disorder

Normal Anxiety

    Anxiety does not get in the way of your daily activities or responsibilities.

    You can control your anxieties.

    Your anxieties are limited to a specific small number of concerns.

    Your bouts of anxiety last for a short period of time.

    Your anxieties significantly disrupt your job, activities and social life and are extremely stressful and upsetting.

    You cannot control your anxieties.

    You worry about all sort of things and you always tend to expect the worse.

    You have been worrying almost everyday for about last six months.

The symptoms of the anxiety disorder tend to fluctuate. But on the whole they are as follows:-

Physical Symptom
    Muscle tension, body aches or soreness.
    Pounding heart beat
    Chest pains
    Feeling of choking
    Sweating
    Clammy hands
    Sleep disorder
    Nausea and other stomach problems
    Tiring easily.
    Chills and hot flashes
    Feeling dizzy and light headed or faint

Psychological Symptoms
    Irritability, jumpiness and edginess
    Inability to control anxious thoughts
    Feeling of dread
    Inability to relax and concentrate
    Fear of rejection
    Fear of losing control
    Fear of dying


Anxiety disorder can be subdivided into many subcategories. Some are:-
1.    Generalized anxiety Disorder
2.    Panic Disorder
3.    Agoraphobia
4.    Social Phobia
5.    Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
6.    Specific Phobia
7.    Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
8.    Acute Stress disorder.

So, if you suspect you are suffering from anxiety disorder, you should first consult you doctor. How dreadful the disorder may be, anxiety attack treatment does exist. You must remember that anxiety attacks are not due to any weakness in your character. It is a serious mood disorder and there are biological and psychological component to every anxiety disorder. There potential causes of anxiety disorder can be family history and genetics, increased stress and inadequate coping mechanism, traumatic experiences or having to make a major decision etc.

Treatment for anxiety attack is simple once the diagnosis is made. However, as the symptoms are quite similar to many physical and psychological ailments, making the correct diagnosis is the hardest part of the job. A person suffering from the above symptoms must first seek the opinion of an authorized medical practitioner who, after a through medical check up, will eliminate physical ailments. Next the patient has to see a psychoanalyst, who should now rule out other psychological causes. Treatment for anxiety attack may begin only after that.

Anxiety attack treatment involves medication along with cognitive behavioral therapy, which identifies and challenges the irrational belief and tries to change such thoughts and behavior. Often anxiety disorder can be treated only by psychotherapy, but that is for the doctors to decide. Only a qualified medical practitioner can gauze the intensity of the attack and can decide whether anxiety disorder medication is required. Benzodiazepines and antidepressants are actually panic disorder medications which are used in the anxiety attack treatments. Panic attacks are nothing more than bodily sensation of anxiety and a catastrophic misrepresentation of those sensations. In panic disorder we tend to be worried more about our body than in other anxiety disorder. One should not reject the antidepressant drugs because they are not depressed. These drugs do wonder in panic or anxiety disorders. One should not take them on their own either. All the drugs have potential harmful side effects. Only a doctor can decide the doses required as intensity of the attacks vary from person to person. As a rule a victim of panic order should be started on a very low dose of antidepressant while that of other anxiety disorder victims can be given the normal dose. Please do not let embarrassment and ignorance keep you away from a healthy life. Go and see a psychiatrist with acronym MD or DO.