Anxiety Attacks
Anxiety Attacks - Why we need them When we’re in danger, or we think we are, adrenaline pumps round the body to prepare the body for action. Your heart beat and breathing speed up and it is known as the “fight or flight response” although perhaps it might be more accurate to call it the “fight, flight, freeze, faint, fumble response”. It’s a good job too that we have this mechanism that kicks in automatically when we perceived danger. Without it, our ancestors wouldn’t have survived. We wouldn’t be here today. There is a snag, however. Once this response is activated, we tend to think of everything around us as dangerous – as a threat to our safety. Because of the chemicals released into the blood stream to enable this response, our brain chemistry becomes changed and we’re not able to think straight. Rational thoughts turn instead to fear – to attack and run. Many more of us than you might imagine are suffering from the effects of stress and anxiety. Psychological Working Conditions (PWC) surveys indicate that 1 in 6 of working individuals found their job very or extremely stressful. It takes about 20 minutes for your body to recover after an attack of stress or anxiety. Men take longer than women to recuperate. It is thought that gave us an evolutionary advantage, since men, traditionally facing physical threat, were able to protect their women and children in the caves, by being able to stay vigilant and effective for longer periods of time. How will you know these are anxiety symptoms and not something else? Anxiety attacks can sometimes be symptomatic of other problems such as depression or dependence on alcohol. People coming off drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy or some tranquillisers can also have anxiety attacks. A visit to your doctor will rule out other possible causes of your anxiety symptoms. Use the link below to discover other explanations. Click here to find out what else can mimic anxiety symptoms? While we need the panic response to keep us away from danger, when we’re responding to more and more occasions as if their life-threatening, we’re seriously damaging our health. How we think affects our response. To find out more, click on the link: Anxiety Symptoms Leave this Anxiety Attacks page and return to Health Hypnosis page
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