What Happens During an Anxiety Attack?
When dangerous or frightening changes take place in our lives, our bodies are said to take on what’s known as a “fight or flight response”. These responses are many physiological changes that are triggered in our body. This is perfectly normal and takes places in the bodies of all of us.
However, people that suffer from panic or anxiety attacks don’t just have this response when we are in danger. They feel this way all the time- even when there is no danger. This is what is known as an anxiety attack. Because they feel this sense of anxiety, they will develop many different symptoms, both emotional and physical. The symptoms that happen during an anxiety attack, if not taken care of, can alter the course of their life and affect every part of it. They can also keep the individual from leading a normal healthy and happy life.
There are many symptoms that a person can experience, here is a list of what can happen during an anxiety attack:
sweating, pounding heart, headaches, fatigue, tremors, stomach ache, shortness of breath, irritability, difficulty concentrating, restlessness, feelings of dread, looking for and expecting signs of danger, feeling jumpy.
When we are experiencing extreme anxiety, the hormone adrenaline begins to flow through the body in unusually high amounts. This hormone will cause many changes in our body such as increased heartbeat, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure and increased blood flow to our upper and lower extremities. This extra flow of blood that’s going to our extremities is coming away from our inner organs, causing problems in our digestive tract. This is why diarrhea, dry mouth and upset stomach are often symptoms of someone going through an anxiety attack.
Because our body has already determined that it will have to begin to work harder, the heart is going to start beating much faster than normal just to increase the circulation. It may beat faster, more irregular or both. Many people that are unfamiliar with what happens during an anxiety attack believe they are going to have a heart attack and often go straight to their doctor or hospital.
Breathing will speed up when you’re having an anxiety attack as way of getting in more oxygen to compensate for the increased blood circulation. Many people describe this rapid breathing as very difficult and say they often feel like they can’t seem to catch their breath regardless of how hard they try. Because your body is working so hard to keep your blood circulating, you body is going to start to heat up, which will cause extreme sweating and “hot flashes”.
These physical symptoms all seem to go together with each other, with one causing the next one, etc. By recognizing these symptoms before they begin, you can often decrease their severity. Learning correct breathing techniques is an excellent way to lessen many of these symptoms and stop the anxiety attack.
