Panic & Anxiety: Your Inner Battle

Panic & Anxiety: Your Inner Battle

‘Gosh! Just where have I left my keys this time around?’; ‘did I remember to lock the door before leaving home?’; ‘What if I mess up my presentation tomorrow?’ - these are some anxieties we all experience at some time or the other. Anxiety manifests as an unpleasant state with a combination of emotions like fear, apprehension, worry. For different people there can different physical sensations ranging from sweaty palms, chest pain, nausea, headaches, heart palpitations, or shortness of breath.

Anxiety, however, is a common enough reaction in response to stress in our everyday life. In fact, anxiety can be a useful state - in that it makes us more alert, careful and capable of coping with the situation at hand. Normally, the state of anxiety ends as soon as one is out of the situation that has caused it. Sometimes though, our anxious thoughts can spiral out of control, arising a sense of dread and fear for no apparent reason. It is when anxiety turns into an irrational, all encompassing dread of normal, everyday situations, that it is time to sit up and take stock of what could potentially be a disorder. This kind of anxiety can certainly disrupt ones life. This type of anxiety disorders can cause severe distress and can disrupt the lives of a person suffering from them in the future.

Panic attacks are a type of anxiety disorder - sudden feeling of overwhelming fear that comes without any warning and without any apparent reason. This is more intense than feeling of anxiety and can last anywhere between 5 minutes to half an hour. Accompanying physical symptoms include fast heartbeat, chest pain, dizziness, difficulty in breathing, racing pulse, hot flashes or chills, sense of unreality, fear of losing control - to name a few.

Panic attacks can happen anytime, anywhere and without warning. These tend to be recurring and very often one lives in the fear of another attack, which results in the sufferer often restricting his activities. These attacks usually start when one is young - 18 to 24 years of age - and very often there seems to be a connection with major life transitions that are potentially stressful - like death of a loved one, getting married, or after having a baby. There is also some evidence of a genetic predisposition. These also tend to effect women more than men.

Anxiety and panic disorders may develop from a complex set of risk factors - personality, life events, brain chemistry, genetics - and are categorized as a psychiatric illness. Without treatment, panic disorder can have very serious consequences. However, with proper and effective treatment, people suffering from this can lead normal lives. Treatment often includes a combination of cognitive and behavioral therapies, anxiety management and relaxation techniques. Medicines are also used in some cases. The beginning of course is acknowledging this disorder exists and taking action. Any action one takes will help one gain a sense of control over one’s anxiety.