Anxiety or panic attacks are words that are becoming more common within our society, such as, "Today's news was enough to give me a panic attack", but to the individual experiencing actual panic or anxiety attack symptoms, or a family member, they are more than just casual words.
For instance, let's say you've just received a high-executive company promotion, and with all your company hierarchy and family members present you're called upon to make an impromptu speech of acceptance.
Of course, your heart would pound a bit faster, you might even perspire a bit, probably even breathe a quick prayer of "help", but you would proceed with proper decorum befitting the newly bestowed position, to stumble through a few words of appreciation and acceptance and be appropriately applauded.
Right? Wrong! What is happening in this scenario is quite different: Suddenly, without warning, as you arise to your feet, you're beset with a terrific pain in your head, which doesn't subside; you are unable to breathe; dizziness strikes; and severe diarrhea takes its course! The debilitating anxiety attack symptoms have announced themselves, quite graphically and quite publicly.
Not exactly what the hierarchy, the family, or the individual anticipated or hoped for.
Whether this was a first-time actual anxiety attack or the latest of many previous ones, it can be terrifying and demoralizing.
You might be asking, "Could such a scenario actually happen to me? Consider that your brain is an extremely awe-inspiring and bewildering organ; it's your intellect, memory, your consciousness, understanding imagination, instinct, psyche, perception, soul, spirit, and on and on.
Who can understand it all, except the One who created it? Nevertheless, with all these activities going on, is it any wonder that our personal lives get out of their designated order - become more complicated, inconsistent, lopsided, bent, and unbalanced.
Medical practitioners and psychiatrists dealing with anxiety attack symptoms agree that they can be "triggered" by the things we worry about and are anxious about - things that have intensified beyond reason - such as financial conditions, impending illnesses, relationships, unfamiliar circumstances - any situation that causes us to feel powerless and not in control.
When these events are happening within our minds, their presence will eventually manifest themselves on the outside - hence the anxiety attack symptoms.
Although it all starts in this awesome, unfathomable brain of ours, it eventually manifests itself in plain view, regardless of where we might be or what we might be doing.
We must understand, if we have had anxiety attack symptoms, it could happen again, and because these attacks can "strike" us unexpectedly, many times in places or situations where we need to be in control and now find we are not, we must not ignore these symptoms.
Parents, be aware that children may also experience these anxiety attack symptoms.
So for individuals and their families attempting to deal with anxiety, know that you must become as well informed as possible concerning anxiety disorders and the extremely disconcerting, even life-threatening possibilities they present.
And because of these physical manifestations, even doctors sometimes misdiagnose symptoms and mistakenly prescribe treatment as a medical illness rather than an anxiety disorder, which could delay any progress toward relieving these not-so-casual anxiety attack symptoms.
There are innumerable ways of dealing with anxiety attack symptoms available to those seeking help.
Your first step is to recognize and accept the fact that you are experiencing these symptoms and that there is a cure.
By persevering in your search, you will find the most effective treatment or combination of treatments through counseling, therapy, medications like antidepressants and tranquilizers, stress management interventions, combined with prayer and a healthy lifestyle, to name a few.
Yes, anxiety attack symptoms can and may strike - but you can strike back, persevere and say "goodbye forever" to anxiety with all its symptoms!