Many people suffer from anxiety attacks. Some experience them occasionally, while others have frequent attacks. What triggers an anxiety attack, and determines the severity of the attack is not known and can differ in every person. Some of the most common causes of anxiety attacks involve stress, fear and a mental illness. People who suffer from panic or anxiety attacks often also suffer from some type of panic disorder. It may be a mental illness that has been diagnosed, or one that the person has not yet sought treatment for.

 

Symptoms of anxiety attacks can range in severity and duration for each person. Even each attack that a person has can be very different. There are typical symptoms that people usually feel before they have an anxiety attack. Some of the most common symptoms include:

• Increased level of stress
• Irrational fear
• Sudden anxious feeling
• Feeling nervous or edgy
• Racing heart and pulse
• Sweating
• Feeling sick
• Feeling faint
• Feeling hopeless
• Being scared
• Confusion

 

While most people who have anxiety attacks suffer from any or all of those symptoms at some time or another, the degree of the attack can make each one seem very different. Learning how to recognize the symptoms of anxiety attacks is very important to knowing how to combat them and how to prevent them. People who seek treatment for their anxiety attacks, are asked to describe each detail of the attack including where they were when the attack came on, what they were doing, what the surroundings were like, and any other senses that they are able to recall.

 

While there is no way to completely prevent anxiety attacks, if people learn to recognize when a panic attack is coming on, and know the symptoms of anxiety attacks, it can lessen the severity and duration of the attack when it does occur. People can also try to avoid certain situations where they are more likely to experience an anxiety attack. Mental illness can play a big role in the occurrence of anxiety attacks. Those who have been diagnosed with some kind of panic disorder or anxiety disorder are more likely to have acute and severe anxiety attacks than others. In order to be properly diagnosed, the person needs to have a session with a psychologist or psychiatrist to determine if any mental illnesses are present.

 

Treatment is possible for anxiety attacks, but knowing the symptoms, and how to deal with them if they occur is the most powerful way to deal with anxiety. Learning relaxation techniques such as deep breathing are behavioral methods that a person can learn when they feel as though they are having anxiety attacks. Each person may respond to different forms of treatment differently, so more than one treatment may need to be tested.