Possibly one of the hardest things for people with anxiety issues or regular panic attack situations to understand, is that what is happening to them is actually just a natural reaction. Sometimes, knowing this makes things even worse - because of the frustration of the limitations of the human body.
In this article, we will look at exactly what a panic attack is, and why the body triggers such a seemingly nasty set of reactions off, given certain situations and circumstances. Perhaps after reading this, you will understand what is actually happening the next time you have a panic attack, and why these types of things are indeed able to be treated effectively.
Recognizing A Panic Attack
There are a number of things which can happen to the human body when anxiety builds i to a panic attack. Here is a list of just a few of the common symptoms of such a phenomena:
1. Heart Palpitations
2. Nausea
3. Chest Pain
4. Fatigue
5. Shortness of Breath
6. Headaches
7. Stomach aches & cramps
All of these symptoms are a function of the brain tricking the body to prepare for an imminent danger - which in reality is not a danger at all.
Let's take an example of a college student who is currently experiencing issues with anxiety. The student has to sit in a class with more than 50 people surrounding them. The class is silent during a particular lecture, and hence they fear that any noise they make - or any action that they take, will result in a negative situation.
Perhaps they feel that the class will be upset with them if they do something wrong. This leads to a fear of rejection, and hence the symptoms are made even worse than before. The student has just 2 options. Sit there, and face the anxiety - whilst not being able to pay attention to anything that is going on, or just get up and leave the class altogether.
Regardless of which option is chosen, you can probably now see how debilitating an anxiety issue is. In this case, it places a barrier between a students desire to learn, and their actual ability to learn - because of the circumstances that the learning is taking place in.