What Is An Anxiety Attack

At some point in their lives, more than 60% of the population will experience an anxiety attack. Sometimes called panic attacks, such occurrences can be extremely alarming to those who are not aware of what the problem is. Most frequently anxiety attacks, to the unitiated, will appear almost heart attack like in their symptoms - needless to say, this is extremely distressing. Yet even if you do know what is happening to you, in the moment of the attack, you can forget and panic nevertheless. Basically, anxiety attacks are deeply unpleasant.

There is no known cause of anxiety attacks, though as the name suggests, they do relate to anxiety. If a person is distraught, upset or anxious, they are more likely to suffer such an attack. However, some sufferers - and it should be stressed only in a small amount of cases - can suffer from an attack even when they feel calm and relaxed.

With no absolute known physical cause of anxiety attacks, there is no known way of preventing with them. Primarily, sufferers are taught how to manage attacks rather than try and prevent them altogether. If the sufferer panics during an attack, it will worsen in severity, so behavior therapy can help people remain calm.

Different people experience different symptoms, but an anxiety attack can be characterized as a short, intense period of fear and anxiety. This often combines with sweating, shaking, shortness of breath and other fear-related symptoms. Left alone, and provided the sufferer attempts as best to remain calm, they should last no more than 10 minutes.

Anxiety can be the bane of people's existence, causing sleepless nights and panic attacks that are hugely detrimental to quality of life. While the symptoms of an anxiety problem or disorder can be managed with medication, most users find this in itself presents problems -  namely lethargy, which can be difficult if one needs to work or drive a car. Instead, it is most effective for a sufferer of high anxiety to find other ways to cope with their  condition.

Anxiety can be defined as a state of fear which is without justifiable reason. While many people feel anxious upon hearing bad or worrying news, this is a normal level of anxiety  caused by a shock reaction of adrenaline in the body - and is usually harmless. Anxiety becomes a problem, known as a disorder, when these moments of high anxiety happen  frequently or without just cause.

'Just cause' is difficult to define, as usually there will be some basis of fear which is creating the anxiety attack. However, in cases such as those suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, this fear is not in scale with the problem actually presented to the  individual - in a sense, an anxiety attack is an overreaction. On the other side, many people experience anxiety for no definable reason (inflated or not) whatsoever.

The most important thing to remember is that anxiety is not a sustainable state. Severe anxiety uses up much of the bodies resources, and within half an hour, even the most severe  symptoms will begin to subside. Sometimes, with anxiety, all you can do is learn to ride it out.

Alan Vinson is life coach who teaches people how to overcome panic attacks and anxiety through his experience and review of the Panic Away program.

Download his free [http://www.relaxants.net/free-report/ Eliminate Panic Attacks and Anxiety] report on his website.