The Cause Of Anxiety And Panic Attacks

Many people who suffer from anxiety attacks do not understand why they’re having them in the first place. Observing your panic attack triggers can help you avoid panic attacks altogether as you learn to avoid those situations.

Here are some anxiety attack triggers:

Uncomfortable climates: Some people observe that they are more likely to suffer from anxiety problems if the whether is hot or humid.

Catastrophic misinterpretation: This is when one mistakenly believes that something (like an environmental change, spoken word, certain events) are going to cause a disastrous problem. This is actually the most common panic attack trigger of all.

Hyperventilation: Hyperventilating can be both a cause of panic attacks and a result of them.

Vertigo: This is when someone has an uneasy sensational about the movement of themselves or about to the movement of the world around them. It can feel like you’re floating around in space, like the world is spinning unbalanced around you, or like you’re falling. This is a real medical condition not to be confused with dizziness of light-headedness.

Dizziness: Although dizziness is a completely different condition from vertigo, both conditions may trigger a panic attack. Dizziness may also be the result of a panic attack.

Body pains: Unknown pain in the chest area, for example, might lead people to believe they’re having a heart attack. This is obviously a frightening experience which may lead to a panic attack.

Breathlessness: This might trigger anxiety attacks due to the fear that you can’t breathe.

Nausea or other socially embarrassing conditions: Panic attack sufferers may be so embarrassed by the thought of vomiting in public that it triggers a panic attack.

Panic and anxiety attacks can also be the result of certain types of medications or drugs. Some drugs that are known to trigger panic attacks are:

Marijuana
Ecstasy
Catovit
Prolintane
Sanorex
Mazindol

Continuing to take these medications and drugs will likely lead to even more severe health problems and continued panic attacks. .

Needless to say, if you are using any of these substances and having a problem with panic attacks you should consult with your doctor immediately. In fact, you should consult with your doctor before taking any supplements, medications, herbs, or pills.

There may also be a serious underlying condition that causes panic attacks in some individuals. Some possible causes are:

Panic disorders: Panic disorders are far more severe than normal anxiety. This condition causes a person to suffer from multiple panic attacks throughout their life. Panic disorders can be treated, but will most likely require the help of a professional.

Phobias: Social Phobia is the most common panic attack inducing phobia known to man. It can be defined as excess stress in social situations. Social phobia sufferers have an intense fear of being humiliated or embarrassed in front of others.

OCD: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a behavioral disorder accompanied with obsessive and compulsive thoughts and acts. It involves thoughts, rituals, and actions that you feel obsessed with and can’t control with your will.

Post-traumatic stress: Memories of traumatic life experiences can at times cause flash-backs and panic attacks. These experiences usually scar victims for life, which understandably leads to anxiety disorders.

Substance Abuse: Substance abuse induced anxiety problems can easily lead to panic attacks due to permanent brain damage and post-traumatic stress.

These underlying causes may be part of a bigger problem, which only a professional is qualified to help you with. Your doctor will let you know what steps to take in these situations.

Although your anxiety attacks may be due to an underlying condition that you have no control over, you can always avoid the more obvious triggers that affect you. This should help you to deal with panic attacks and lessen the number of incidences you experience.

Breathing Exercises to Reduce Anxiety

Knowing how to breathe correctly is essential to reducing anxiety. Breathing is not something we do, it is something we allow. When feeling anxious, most people start breathing shallowly. This can increase the anxiety that you feel.
Fortunately, spending five to ten minutes a day on breathing exercises will help you breathe deeply from the abdomen.

Although breathing is natural, learning to breathe correctly can take some time. Do not become discouraged if you find the breathing exercises difficult. Keep doing them on a daily basis. Adding yoga or qigong can also help with breathing exercises.

There are many benefits to abdominal breathing. With abdominal breathing, you will increase your oxygen supply, stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system which promotes calmness, rid toxins through the lungs more efficiently, and quiet your mind. Choose a time of day to practice breathing exercises. When abdominal breathing becomes a habit, you’ll be able to use it in anxious situations.

First take note of your current level of tension. Place one hand on your abdomen below the rib cage. Breathe in through your nose. Move the breath as deep into your lungs as possible. If you are doing it correctly, your hand will rise while your chest will only move slightly. After you have inhaled, pause for a moment.

When you exhale, you can exhale through either your nose or your mouth. While you do so, allow your body to go loose and limp. Imagine that you have been carrying a heavy load and you have just set it down.

Do this slow breathing for ten times in a row. To make sure you are not gulping air, count up to four while you inhale. While you exhale, you can combine a word with your muscle relaxation. Choose a word such as “relax” or “let go.

If you do this daily for at least two weeks, you will find that abdominal breathing becomes standard. Use this technique whenever you notice yourself feeling anxious and falling back on shallow breathing or hyperventilating.