The dictionary defines anxiety as “a painful apprehensive uneasiness of the mind usually over an impending or anticipated ill fearful concern or interest”. Most of us have had the unfortunate experience of being anxious. For most people it’s an extreme worried like feeling, for others it’s like a feeling of impending doom and in some cases, anxiety symptoms are so severe, they take over one’s life. For people with severe anxiety symptoms, fear is so blown up it has become irrational, destructive and consuming.
Cause of Anxiety
Feeling anxious is normal. Being scared or fearful is part of human life. We get anxious for many reasons. It is perfectly normal to feel worried or apprehensive before one takes a test, before interviews or even before embarking on a new adventure. Anxiety becomes a problem when it interrupts with sleep or with daily functions. This is when it becomes a problem.
Anxiety is caused by a lot of things. Some of the most common are stress from work or school, financial difficulties, emotional trauma, serious medical condition, withdrawal from drug use and even drug side effects and intoxication.
Symptoms of Severe Anxiety
There are many severe anxiety symptoms. Some of them include palpitations, trembling, sweating, shortness of breath, difficulty swallowing, chest pains, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, distorted vision, increased sensitivity to sound, touch and smell, getting tired easily, muscle pain and trouble sleeping.
People who suffer from severe anxiety find it hard to function everyday. Oftentimes, they let fear control and make their decisions for them. Their life becomes very limited and it undermines their confidence and chips away their independence. When this happens anxiety is no longer a feeling but has become a disorder.
Stopping the Fear
If you suffer from anxiety attacks and disorders, then there are many ways of controlling your feeling. Most anxiety attacks are triggered by a certain thing. In some cases, all it takes is overcoming or conquering that feeling. When you know your triggers then you know how to stop getting an attack. You can either avoid it or confront it head on.
Exercise can also stop anxiety attacks and helps with severe anxiety symptoms. It can be a good and healthy distraction from the overwhelming feeling. Plus exercise releases endorphins for the body helping the person get calm. Relaxation techniques such as meditation are also highly recommended. Meditation helps the mind focus on other things. It helps with breathing and improves concentration. Other forms of treatment include massages, aromatherapy, progressive muscle relaxation, hypnosis and biofeedback.
Depending on your physician’s orders and severity of symptoms some people with anxiety issues will need medication, therapy or a combination of both. The important thing to remember when you are suffering from severe anxiety symptoms is that there is help out there. Living in fear and constant worry is not something one has to contend with for the rest of his life. Anxiety is a treatable disorder that can be managed by using one or several techniques.
