Paul couldn´t stop sweating! He thought there was something wrong with his glands or maybe it was just too hot out! He had been having this problem of heavy sweating off and on for about 3 months now. He also was a lot crankier. He was snapping at co-workers, his girlfriend and even his own mom.

He thought it was just stress, he had a huge presentation to prepare for but that was last month and he was still ill tempered even though his responsibilities were not as demanding currently.
 
He started to worry that he was sick. His bowels had been giving him problems and he was dizzy a lot. He also had problems concentrating and often felt out of it. He was worried he was sick and put off going to the doctor because quite frankly he didn´t want to hear that there was something wrong with him. He kept hoping all of this would pass.

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Panic attacks often lead to depression. Anxiety can have such a detrimental impact on your life that depression is often the natural response to the isolation and worry you feel. Identifying whether you are suffering from depression is an important part of healing.

Dealing with the symptoms of both your depression and anxiety or panic attack condition can help you on the road to a faster recovery.  

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One minute you´re at your desk, in your car, talking to friends and the next you are gasping in terror, fighting to breathe, longing to hide, and trying to escape. This is probably what your first panic attack or maybe the first couple of panic attacks felt like. You were surprised by the nature and ferocity of the attack, astounded that it snuck up on you, bewildered by what was happening to you.

Did your panic attack sneak up on you? For early panic and anxiety sufferers, this is certainly what it seems like has happened. This is part of what makes panic attacks and feelings of anxiety so hard to cope with. Worry about the nature and timing of anxiety attacks always lurks in the back of your mind, making it hard to ever feel at ease.

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Times are tough right now; we are in the grips of a global economic crisis. You may have lost your job and certainly someone you know has lost a job. You may know people who have lost their homes, are struggling with bills or are otherwise underwater. It´s hard not to get overwhelmed when the problems around us are so daunting. It´s hard to understand what billions or trillions of dollars mean! 

In these tough times, more and more people are struggling with anxiety and panic. There are so many more stressors active in our daily lives now, so many more worries at the forefront of our minds. Finding any respite from these thoughts can be difficult. But perhaps even more difficult is identifying whether you are suffering from severe anxiety or panic or run of the mill worry.

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OCD or Obsessive compulsive disorder is a problem many Americans struggle with. It actually has two components, obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors. The compulsive behaviors are usually the soothing mechanism for the obsessive thoughts. These thoughts can be quite disturbing and preoccupy a great deal of time. It is important to understand and address the disturbing thoughts that are fueling the compulsions.

We´ve probably all joked that someone we know might be too organized, too neat, and too orderly. While these characteristics are certainly good in small doses, when taking to the extreme, they can actually be quite disruptive.

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When you experience a panic attack, your body goes into overdrive. Your body is sounding the alarm and your heart starts to race faster, your breathing becomes shallower and quicker and blood flows to the core of your body, leaving your extremities tingling.  

These sensations can be overwhelming and often only serve to increase the anxiety you are suffering with. Your body is prepared to fight or flee; this is an ancient survival instinct that kicks in when we feel cornered, vulnerable or scared. 

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Dealing with phobias can be troubling! These little fears can cause big reactions, leading to extreme anxiety, panic attacks and total avoidance of particular people, places, things and activities. Common phobias include fear of flying, fear of driving, fear of animals such as dogs and fear of public speaking.

For many people, their fears and their anxieties don´t play a daily part in their lives but for phobia sufferers, their thoughts are always directed towards avoiding that which they fear. Exposure therapy is a great way to lessen the dread that so many phobia sufferers have to contend with but it needs to be approached effectively.   

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Phobias are fears pure and simple. You are afraid of small spaces, confined spaces, high places, dogs, elevators, or alligators. A fear becomes a phobia when it irrationally interferes with your life and causes you to avoid people, places and things because of that fear.

You don´t go to work because you have to ride the elevator; you won´t drive your children to their friend´s house because you´re afraid of your car. A great way to stop these fears from interfering with your lifestyle is to desensitize yourself to the feelings these situations create with real life desensitization. 

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Panic attacks can be very problematic especially when they accompany anxiety and stress. These are a result of over production as well as under utilization of adrenalin. When the anxiety reaction is not useful for adrenalin, it can result in development of a specific physical reactions group that can reach to its highest with a panic attack.

This kind of response is quite natural and physical. It does not have anything to do with physical or mental illness or even chemical imbalances of the body. However, this can be quite threatening for the individual.

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One of the most common questions asked with reference to anxiety and stress is whether or not these conditions cause heart disease.

Panic attacks usually involve sudden development of emotions such as anxiety, fear or extreme feeling of discomfort. These emotions are followed by some additional symptoms. 

Panic attacks have always been associated to cardiovascular risks such as anger, depression and even hostility. Hypertension is yet another symptom associated to panic attacks. Anxiety or stress is known to add up to adverse effects of cardiovascular problems including enhanced blood clotting tendency, coronary artery spasm or heart rhythm disturbances.

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