We all have an anxiety attack from time to time, sometimes to a point that it becomes really uncomfortable. This can be because we are expecting life-changing news, are faced in a situation where we could embarrass ourselves, because we have to do something difficult or any other situation. However, with some people, this normal anxiety and nervousness become something else altogether, which is the debilitating condition known as social anxiety. This goes far beyond regular worry and a dose of fear.
People with social anxiety actively avoid social situations. Unfortunately, as much as we have started to map the brain and understand mental illness, breaking the stigma of having such a diagnosis, social anxiety is one of the least understood disorders in existence.
In fact, the majority of people who suffer from anxiety attacks do not get diagnosed, and if they do, they have simply prescribed medication. Other options are out there as well, and it is important to remember that there is light at the end of the tunnel and that it doesn’t need to be a chemically induced light.
I’ve tried quite a few of them, such as weighted blankets from Mela Comfort, medications and yoga, each for different points in my life when my issues have crept back.
The most important thing I found was that when they did come back, I attacked the issue head-on and I thought to myself, ‘I must stop my anxiety before it becomes worse and takes over my life’.
It’s the most frustrating thing to be worrying about what others think of you, how they perceive you or they judge your character because of your mental issues… but the thing is, it’s true, and you can’t help but realize that you’re a lone soul in the world of people who have never felt out of control, out of their own body or experienced the level of anxiety and stress you do regularly. How can people understand?
Dealing with anxiety and having an anxiety attack are two very different things. Everyone deals with stress at some point in their lives. Still, there are different levels of anxiousness and how severe you get it, how often you get it and what it takes to calm you down often determine whether or not your anxious character is actually a disorder.
When it comes to anxiety and panic attacks, the mind works in crazy ways. You start to think about something, it causes a little bit of stress … which spirals into stressing about something else and before you know it you’re the whole world is seemingly coming down right before your eyes. It’s scary. You’re not sure why you feel the way you do, how you got into this state of panic but you’re there, and you want it to stop.
Whether you’re having an anxiety or panic attack, the reality is that you can control your thoughts; you just don’t feel like you can at that moment. Anxiety attacks and panic attacks are awful, really really terrible and they can start to control your life if you let them. I’ve been there. You can learn how to manage anxiety before it gets worse.
Anxiety can start to become scary when you feel like you can’t control its onset or don’t know what triggers your stress and panic. When you feel like this, you start to be concerned with doing anything in public and certainly can lose your confidence at work, with your relationship and in life, in general. The worst part is that worrying about whether or not you are going to have a panic attack can actually CAUSE a panic attack. The best thing to do is to understand the early onsets and the triggers.
Your thoughts may lead you to a place where you are scared of yourself, but more accurately, you are afraid of your actions. Whether it’s urging to be physical with others, yourself or that something terrible may happen- it can be extremely debilitating. Know that if you feel this way, and you feel like you can not at all control these thoughts, please consider going to get some medical attention. I’m not a doctor, I just know what it’s like to suffer through significant anxiety and panic attacks, and I did something about it. .. now I want to help others.
Possible Symptoms of An Anxiety Attack Disorder
The big question that often comes up is ‘what on earth is going on inside my head’. Wondering why you feel like this, why you have a pit in your stomach and why you can’t control the feeling of urgency and panic is very scary.
The mind works in crazy ways, and I found that dealing with anxiety and panic attacks can be a mental issue that is just as paralysing as anything else. When you don’t know when you are going to have an attack when you’re scared to go out of the house or be in public situations because you don’t know if you will hyperventilate and have a panic attack can be the most self-secluding way to live your life.
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