Nervousness is actually a normal mechanism of our body.
It is a warning sign when one's life is in danger.
However, this feeling can actually get serious if it is highly intense and frequent.
This kind of nervousness can already be characterized as Anxiety.
In this article, I'll be sharing my own experience about coping with anxiety.
It was around my teens when I noticed that I easily feel nervous and panicked.
I thought it was just my default and I have nothing to worry about.
Until, I was in college when I first experienced a Panic Attack.
At first I was nervous, then, I have hard time breathing, I have palpitations and I kind of feel dizzy.
I was overwhelmed with the situation that it made my symptoms more intense.
I did not know what to do then.
Good thing I have my roommate who helped me go to the hospital.
There, I was told that what I just had was panic attack.
My doctor told me to relax and not worry about anything.
Actually, it was hard to feel relaxed at the midst of the physical symptoms of my episode.
I was given a medication to relax me.
After a few minutes, my breathing went back to normal and the remaining symptoms subsided too.
I was not given any medication yet, the doctor recommended me to another expert.
I learned more about my case when I visited a psychologist.
It was difficult at first to accept that what I have is classified as a disorder.
According to the DSM or Diagnostic Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, these are the usual symptoms of panic attacks: accelerated heart rate, profuse sweating, shaking or trembling, shortness of breath, feeling of choking, chest pain, nausea, feeling of light headed, derealisation and depersonalization.
Most of the time, the attack is consisted of combination of the mentioned symptoms.
Also, as the attack progresses the symptoms also intensifies.
It may start with shortness of breath that eventually affects other parts of your body.
Hence, it is best to focus on your breathing to cease other symptoms from surfacing.
From the American Psychological Association or APA, an episode usually lasts for thirty minutes or less.
On the other hand, anxiety can also be as short as 15 seconds.
There are also cases where in episodes go in a cyclic series, lasting for a longer period, sometimes even hours.
As I have mentioned awhile ago, the popular first aid for your attack is to focus on your breathing.
What you should do is to normalize your breathing.
To do this, you may use your cupped hands to cover your nose and mouth.
Then, breathe-in and breathe-out through until you feel that you are breathing normal again.
You may also use a brown paper bag to control the air the volume that you are inhaling.
For our information to be balanced, I want to mention that there are those who critique of the importance of paper bag breathing.
This kind of practice has the hazard of limiting the oxygen that goes inside the body.
What it does is increase the carbon dioxide that a person inhibits.
An alternative for the paper bag theory is initially determining if there is a hyperventilation in the case.
If there is a necessity to balance the oxygen and carbon dioxide of the victim, a perfect tactic would be to extend their out breathe by humming or counting.
Now, let us go to the triggers of the attack.
Other people have Agoraphobia which is associated with panic or anxiety attacks.
This agoraphobia is another form of disorder.
Those who have this case find it very had to be in a crowded place.
They fear that they might have an attack at the midst of the crowd and they may not be able to escape successfully.
So, places like the subway or underground, concerts and other crowded events are the usual situation that people with Agoraphobia avoid.
Another thing that they fear of is being embarrassed in front of other people.
The name of this disorder is derived from the Greek words agora and phobos, when translated means fear of marketplace.
Another trigger of panic is phobia.
This can be a fear you have for an arachnid or an enclosed placed which is popularly known as claustrophobia.
One of the most popular triggers of nervousness is public speaking.
I too am not comfortable in such setting.
For treatment, experts usually recommend cognitive behavioural approach.
The first part of this therapy is greatly informational.
Victims, like me, found this information vital in for our survival.
This simple step allows us to protect ourselves from an incoming attack.
Moreover, we no longer have to feel an "extra" anxiety for now knowing what is happening to our body.
A lot of people who have panic disorder feel that they are "going insane" or that their attack might continue to a heart attack.
Hence, cognitive restructuring or changing one's way of thinking guides the sufferers to replace these thoughts with realistic and proper way of viewing their panic episodes.
If you haven't consulted your doctor and you have the same symptoms as I had.
It is best to go to the experts and be informed of what you really have.
This will give you peace of mind and the right information that you need.
You will be surprised that there is nothing to be afraid of from learning about your health.
So, good luck and I wish you well.