Anxiety is actually a normal reaction to stress. It can help us deal with tense situations, study harder or even keep focused on delivering an important speech. For the most part, it helps us cope with life’s difficult situations. It becomes a disabling anxiety disorder when it becomes an excessive, irrational fear of everyday events.

When we are anxious it can be accompanied by physical effects such as heart palpitations, shortness of breath, chest pain, stomach ache, headaches and nausea. In a physical way, the body is preparing to deal with a perceived threat. The blood pressure, heart rate and sweating increase and the blood flow to the muscles is also increased. However, at the same time function is inhibited to the immune and digestive systems. This is the well-known fight or flight response. Some outward signs include sweating, trembling and pale skin.

The person suffering from an anxiety attack might also feel a sense of dread or panic, but will not suffer from the almost paralyzing terror that a person suffering from panic attacks will.

People who are suffering from anxiety disorders are three to five times more likely to seek medical treatment and six times more likely to be hospitalized for psychiatric disorders than other people.

Those who have anxiety attacks feel out of control. They experience very little warning prior to having one and then don’t know how to handle it when it comes. Most people end up visiting their doctor and usually they are given a prescription for a tranquilizer. Unfortunately, this is not the answer. It’s just a bandaid solution and does not get to the root cause of the attacks.

There could be some physical problems that are contributing to the anxiety, such as hormonal fluctuations dealing with not only the ovaries but also the thyroid. Also, those suffering from hypoglycemia can also show symptoms of anxiety when their blood sugar levels suddenly drop. Blood tests can determine any of these causes. Once a diagnosis is made, then the treatment becomes evident.

However, for many people, there is not a physical cause for their anxiety. Stress is invariably involved in all cases of anxiety attacks. Following are some of the ways to combat stress and prevent future anxiety attacks:-

• The first thing you must do is relax and breathe deliberately and slowly;
• Call a friend or loved one to give you support;
• Don’t expect too much from yourself; accept the things you cannot change;
• Take a hot bath;
• Grow in your faith;
• Learn some relaxation and exercise techniques such as meditation and yoga;
• Buy a few relaxation CDs and listen to them as soon as you think you are getting anxious;
• Surround yourself with things that you love;
• Schedule some alone time for yourself and do something you love to do such as listening to your favorite music or reading a good book.

There will always be stress factors present in our lives. We just have to learn some ways that work for us in reducing the stress levels and having some techniques to fall back on when we start to feel anxious. With practice, it is possible to live a happy life free from anxiety attacks.

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