Anxiety Symptoms – Emotional and Physical

The symptoms of an Anxiety disorder are many. Common symptoms include apprehension, uneasiness, dread, impaired concentration, feeling restless, avoidance, irritability, and cloudy confusion.

However, with some of these symptoms, one could easily attach hypochondria to one or many of the symptoms above. Apprehension and dread, two of the most common symptoms are closely associated with morbid feelings of sickness and death. The symptoms of a panic attack are mainly physical, which is why attaching hypochondria as one of the main attributes to a panic attack is not that far of a stretch.

A panic attack is often mistaken for a heart attack or fear of some serious medical condition.

A panic attack could begin with a number of different physical symptoms; however, the peak fear period usually produces the same feeling. (That you’re going to pass out, and or die.)

It begins with shortness of breath, or sweating, and moves on to hot or cold flashes. After several minutes of uneasiness, your brain begins to wonder just what is going on. Your mind has triggered a release of adrenaline that your body is now responding to. You’ll feel dizziness, general discomfort, and jittery feelings all over. And not understanding what is happening, you get scared. The symptoms just compound on top of each other, your body releases even more adrenaline, and the symptoms get increasingly worse.

After about 5-10 minutes, you begin feeling shortness of breath, and feelings of being detached from yourself. All of this leads to the peak of the attack, where the symptoms are accelerated heart rate, palpitations, and nausea. You are feeling smothered, and you begin to hyperventilate. And right around this point, you may feel a ringing in your ears, extreme dizziness and start worrying that you’re going to drop dead of a heart attack.

Yes, I have had panic attacks this bad. And I know there are tens of millions of people who have had them too. However, after talking to a counselor, he explained certain things to me. A common symptom of heart disease is pain or numbness in the left arm. I’ve felt this many times during a panic attack, and immediately reacted with thoughts of death from a heart attack. However, if you are breathing shallow or your breathing pattern is disrupted because of a smothering sensation, that very same feeling of numbness or pain in the extremities can be caused by a build up of carbon dioxide in the blood. Simply put, you’re not breathing correctly, therefore, the oxygen levels in your blood get thrown out of whack.

If you’re prone to worry, dread, or apprehension, you may feel these symptoms and start self diagnosing for the worse case scenario. And there isn’t a worse case than a fear of dying. Numbness or tingling sensations can lead your mind anywhere from a heart attack, to a blood clot, to cancer.

However, these symptoms are also usually a panic attack. A brutal panic attack doesn’t usually last longer than 30 minutes; however, it is a terrifying 30 minutes. If you feel any of these symptoms frequently, you should seek a mental health professional. Treatment is a very success option, and there’s no reason you should have to suffer. If you experience 4 or more of these symptoms, I would seek help from a mental health professional.

• Shortness of breath or smothering sensation
• Palpitations, pounding heart, or accelerated heart rate
• Chest pain or discomfort
• Trembling or shaking
• Feeling of choking
• Sweating
• Nausea or stomach distress
• Feeling unsteady, dizzy, lightheaded, or faint
• Feelings of unreality or of being detached from yourself
• Fear of losing control or going crazy
• Fear of dying
• Numbness or tingling sensations
• Hot or cold flashes

Mike Morgan.

Articles appearing on Anxiety Cure Blog are written by contributing authors, and the views and opinions expressed are those of the authors only. All News and Press Release information on the pages of Anxiety Cure Blog are cited from public sources on the internet.

Note: The above information is intended to supplement, not substitute for, the expertise and judgment of your physician, pharmacist, or other healthcare professional. It is not intended to diagnose a health condition, but it can be used as a guide to help you decide if you should seek professional treatment or to help you learn more about your condition once it has been diagnosed.


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