Anxiety Attack Symptoms

An anxiety attack usually strikes suddenly and for no reason that you know of. That is why it is important to learn more about anxiety attack symptoms to become prepared for them. You have to know your enemy to be able to fight it effectively.

Anxiety attack symptoms can vary from person to person and last from a couple of minutes to a half an hour. Some people may even experience a combination of those symptoms.

A person can experience anxiety attack symptoms twice a week and then they may disappear for a month. So as you see there is no certain time or certain pattern of anxiety attacks.

Anxiety attack symptoms can be divided in two categories: physical and psychological (or emotional).

Physical anxiety attack symptoms include:

1.Chest pain or tightness in the chest

2. Sudden awareness of your heartbeat (palpitations). Usually a person experiences heartbeat racing

3. Shortness of breath or hyperventilation . Person feels like he can not breathe and his breaths become fast and shallow.

4. Escalating muscle tension and muscle aches

5. Hot flashes, excessive sweating or vice versa chills and tremor. As a result hands get cold and clammy.

6. Stomach distress that may include nausea, butterflies , diarrhea or frequent urination

7. Dizziness, feeling light-headed of faint

8. Fatigue

9. Numbness or tingling in one s hands or feet. Sometimes a person may experience the same symptoms around mount or lips.

10. Headaches

11. Insomnia, when a person is so anxious that he/she has hard times falling asleep

12. Paraesthesias (feeling like an insect is crawling on your body)

Psychological anxiety attack symptoms include:

1. Impaired concentration or selective attention

2. Feeling restless

3. Irritability

4. Fear of losing control

5. Nervousness and jumpiness

6. Avoidance, feeling of being out of touch with people around you. As a result a person may experience a strong desire to escape the room.

7. Feeling confused

8. Uneasiness, feeling like something very bad is about to happen

9. Fear of going crazy or dying

10. Feeling of unreality and depersonalization

11. Fear of doing something embarrassing

12. Low self-confidence

After anxiety attack is over a person can be left feeling tired, weak, very emotional and achy. Very often a person also feels shaky, but this will pass as soon as he/she will come down.

Anxiety attack symptoms may seem like a serious health problem, but in reality they give the body a workout similar to a workout at the gym. This is why the person may feel muscle aches afterwards.

Even though anxiety attack symptoms are far away from being pleasant they can t seriously harm your body. However, they can indeed harm your social life. A person suffering from often anxiety attacks can shun himself from other people becoming very self-conscious or feeling tired and low on energy.

The good thing is that if you suffer from anxiety attack symptoms you don t have to live with them. There are some treatments nowadays that can help you to eliminate anxiety attacks permanently and start to fully enjoy life.