Bertil Hjert

Panic Attacks - Anxiety Can Affect Your Physical and Mental Health and Disrupt Your Personal Life

Extreme anxiety is a powerful emotion that manifests itself in physical, mental and emotional ways. The causes or triggers for these feelings are usually innocuous and does not cause most people such a level of panic but for some people, their intense reactions start a downward spiral. Dealing with panic and worry in any form can be difficult but for excessive worriers it can simply be too much. The thoughts that permeate their minds are too much to contend with, leaving them with only once choice, to shut down any avenues of interaction that can lead to those thoughts.

Anxiety has a profound affect on our physical and mental heath. It can color the way we look at every situation and every interaction. When excessive worry is left unchecked, it can negatively impact your work or school performance, your personal relationships and your family.
 
These consequences are seemingly unavoidable because your mind is so full of panic that it can’t see and interpret events correctly. Rather than seeing people’s looks and words for what they truly are, every negative connotation possible is attached to those actions.
 
As a result, panic stricken people avoid interactions and situations where they believe they will experience stress. As time passes and the mind continues to fuel excessive worry, the number of people and situations that are avoided only increases.

The avoidance that anxiety sufferers practice is triggered by both physical and mental responses to stimulus. The stimulus doesn’t have to be unpleasant like a room full of spiders or snakes; in fact the stimulus is usually normal, everyday things. 

Your boss calls to talk to you, you have a presentation to give to some clients coming in, your spouse disagrees with you on something or you have to pick something up at the supermarket. These normal everyday occurrences trigger exaggerated mental and physical responses that cause extreme suffering.

Anxiety causes intense physical reactions in some people that are completely out of proportion to the stimulus involved. One might expect their worry levels to spike when encountering a hungry bear or when being followed in a dark alley. These are normal, rational situations that can induce fear and your fear is perfectly understandable and appropriate for the situation. 

What about experiencing this same level of fear at the very thought of attending your child’s school play? Or picking up some vegetables to go with dinner? These situations shouldn’t spark intense reactions but in some people they do and this disproportionate response can wreak havoc on your life.
 
The physical manifestations associated with anxiety can be overwhelming and physically painful as well as mentally and emotionally disturbing.  Some of the symptoms that can accompany intense worry include:

• a rapid heartbeat,
• shortness of breath,
• dizziness,
• upset stomach,
• sweating,
• and loss of feeling in your hands and feet. 

These physical sensations often lead sufferers to assume the worst, that they are having a heart attack or some other kind of major medical emergency. Fortunately, these dreadful sensations pass and while the body returns to its previous state, mentally and emotionally you are always worried about the next episode, what to do if you get overwhelmed again but more importantly how to avoid it at all costs. 

This is why panic sufferers find their lives are changed so radically by their condition.  The intense feelings lead to such strong avoidance tactics that bad choices usually result. 

Most people, who suffer with any kind of anxiety, find the physical mental and emotional toll to be overwhelming. The stress involved with constantly thinking about what to avoid, how to avoid it and making up excuses to avoid things is exhausting. 

Depression is usually a steady companion because the stress is just so great.  Understanding your problems is the first step in trying to change the conditions you are coping with. Finding ways to relax the mind and body is a good first step in coping with overwhelming thoughts.

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