Personal Development Worksheets

Current estimates suggest that nearly one in ten American suffer from anxiety attacks. This issue has reached epidemic levels. By familiarizing yourself with the early warning signs of a panic attack you can equip yourself to stop an attack before it starts.

It is common for a person to report feeling “normal” just before a panic attack strikes. With hardly any waring the person can quickly find themselves falling into the storm of an attack. By familiarizing yourself with the symptoms you can become aware of how panic attacks take hold of you.

The garden variety anxiety attack has a duration of between 1 minute to 30 minutes. Occasionally a person with a history of panic attacks will succumb to one lasting more than an hour. In general a person who experiences a panic attack lasting more than two hours should seek medical attention.

The following three symptoms represent the most oft reported anxiety attack symptoms:

Increased Heart Beat – When a person succumbs to an anxiety attack the heart beat will intensify. When the anxiety attack has reached its apex it is likely that the heart may be elevated to a similar state as if the person had just exercised vigorously.

As your heart rate begins to escalate you can counter the sensations by taking slow and deliberate breaths. It could take as many as fifteen minutes for your body to return to normal levels.

Mental Disconnect – Another symptom frequently reported during anxiety attacks is the sensation that you have disconnected from your body. The person begins to feel as though they can not interact or connect with their environment. Processing information and thinking clearly becomes extremely difficult.

These sensations are the result of the release of chemicals in the brain. The best way to combat these feelings is to use the same breathing techniques used in the section above.

A Feeling That One Might Die – A panic attack can be a terrifying experience. Many individuals report that they have felt as though they thought they were going to die during an attack because their symptoms were so severe.

Be advised that you will not die as the result of the anxiety attack. Though it can be very stressful on the body, a panic attack does not place you in grave danger.

Often times a panic attack will present other symptoms instead of or in addition to the three mentioned above. Still, a keen eye on the lookout for these symptoms can help stop a panic attack before it overtakes you.