Both anxiety disorder symptoms and the more severe panic attacks can occur suddenly and unexpectedly to anyone. Even the most confident person can suffer an attack in certain situations. It is even possible to have an attack and not recognise an anxiety disorder symptom. So how to make sure sure if I’m having an anxiety attack?

We are all familiar with anxiety as it is a perfectly normal and healthy emotion. We know it as our own body alerting us to an event or situation that we are not comfortable with. It is therefore a positive thing in that it prompts us to “lift our game” to meet the challenges of a situation. And, having successfully coped in spite of being anxious, we are that little bit stronger or more confident for the next time an event occurs that pushes us beyond our comfort zones.

Then there are a growing number of us that find ourselves suffering from sudden and severe anxiety attacks that embarrass and leave us unable to cope with common everyday social or work situations. These are horrid to experience, are most definitely not normal but are, thankfully, treatable.

It becomes important then, to be able to distinguish between normal anxiety and anxiety disorder symptoms. So how to make sure that what you have experienced is not normal healthy anxiety? The simple test is asking yourself whether the experience had an extremely unpleasant physical and emotional effect on you at the time and in any way seriously limited your every day activities since.

Anxiety attack or anxiety disorder symptoms may include dizziness, a dry throat, shortness of breath, tight chest, racing heart, hot flushes, overwhelming fear and a disconnection with reality. Experiencing several of these symptoms at the same time is an indication that you suffer from the more severe panic attacks.

The good news is that this is a condition that is not uncommon and that you can gradually eliminate the fears and again enjoy life to the fullest. Learn how to be sure you are having panic attack and free youself by a  simple step by step approach to taking back control of your life.

Like adults panic attacks in children occur as well. Unlike adults they have yet to develop the maturity required to even begin to cope with them. We know how disturbing these attacks can be to an adult. How much more frightening must they be to our young? Children need as much understanding and help from their parents as they can get, and finding a treatment for the young can often be difficult.

Panic Attacks in Children: To be able to assist your child you need to be able to recognize the triggers of an attack and develop a response that the child can learn so that, over time, they can build a strategy that works for them. Look for signs like trembling, shortness of breath, rapid breathing, dizziness and feeling feint. Any of these may be a sign that your child is suffering from irrational and unprovoked fears that cause panic attacks.

Finding A Treatment: The key to helping your child is in early recognition. If you can spot the onset of an attack early enough then a mix of comfort and distraction will help. The greatest source of comfort for your child is most likely to be the security of a parent’s love. Combine that with effective distraction of your child’s attention toward something that you know triggers happy secure feelings.

Panic attacks in children will likely result in a decline in the child’s school performance, and possibly avoidance of school altogether and fear of separation from parents or being away from the safety of home, as well as substance abuse, depression and even suicidal thoughts. If you feel your childs panic attacks a severe or maybe unusual your first course of action naturaly is to visit your general practitioner. Finding a treatment that is suitable for your child does not always have to involve the use of anti anxiety medication.  Today the option of many of the natural products availabe are proving to be very effective in the treatment of panic attacks in children.

Anxiety is a natural part of being human. Work, family troubles, health scares and worries about paying the bills happen to most people at some point in their lives and it is normal to go through periods of being very anxious as a result. But an anxiety disorder becomes much more than this. There may be no real reason for the sufferer to be worrying or they may be anxious to such a degree they cannot function normally in every day situations.

The physical effects of anxiety can be very distressing. They might include heart palpitations, nausea, extreme tiredness, muscle aches, dizzy spells, chest pain, headaches and stomach disturbances. These symptoms can actually perpetuate the disorder. If someone is already having problems with constant worrying, slightly unnerving symptoms such as palpitations can trigger a panic about whether they are a result of the anxiety or a sign of a serious medical problem.

There is also a strong psychological element to anxiety disorders. An acutely anxious person may have trouble concentrating, racing thoughts, a constant feeling of dread, irritability and being agitated and unable to relax. Events can be magnified into something much more serious than they actually are. For example, if a person in a normal frame of mind forgets to pay their electricity bill until it’s a couple of days over due it probably won’t cause too much worry. They would simply pay it once they remember and then move on to something else. An anxious person on the other hand, once they realised the bill was overdue, may become extremely stressed and have an irrational fear that their electricity supply may be cut off.

The causes of anxiety vary from person to person. There is a strong genetic element to it. If someone in your family has a history of mental health problems - it does not necessarily have to be anxiety, it could be something like depression or obsessive compulsive disorder - there is a greater likelihood of you developing an anxiety disorder. Anxiety can also occur in people with no apparent susceptibility, however, usually as a result of a stressful life event. It can also be a result of certain drugs, both illegal and prescribed.

There are many approaches to treating anxiety, including medication and cognitive behavioural therapy. Your family doctor will be able to give you the support you need.