Anxiety Attacks & Symptoms: All In Your Head?
I received an email today that referred to anxiety attacks as “a series of very unfortunate head games.” I believe that’s about as good a description of of anxiety attacks and their symptoms as I’ve ever heard, because, in the end, they are in fact “all in your head.”
But this doesn’t mean that anxiety doesn’t produce very real (an even painful) effects in your life, including physical symptoms that often mimic other health problems. This is something I’m personally acquainted with: when my anxiety attacks were at their worst, I saw many doctors and had countless tests run only to discover that I was physically healthy as a horse.
In my case, I was suffering with breathing problems, which very closely mimicked the symptoms of asthma. In fact, I was sure I had asthma, and was beginning to question the common sense of my doctors as, time and time again, the tests showed not even the slightest hint of asthma, or any other condition. But if the doctors were right, then why was I having trouble breathing?
Today I understand full well why I was having these symptoms, and how anxiety attacks brought on by chronic stress and mental fatigue can produce very real physical symptoms in the body. Anxiety may be a “state of mind,” but it doesn’t just affect the mind. It is a whole body and mind problem.
This is something I did not realize for many years, but seems fairly obvious to me today. Understanding this mind/body connection made be able to deal with my anxiety attacks symptoms in a much more effective manner, eventually reducing the problem to nothing more than an occasional nuscence, NOT an every day situation.
The techniques I used to overcome this problem are now available to anyone in the EasyCalm Anxiety Prevention Series and they’re not at all complicated. It’s funny; when I stopped “trying so hard” to defeat my anxiety symptoms, and learned the simple but effective tools to deal with them, the problem cleared up pretty quickly.
Struggling or fighting against anxiety attacks only makes them worse (and I should know–I was thick enough to continue trying this for quite a few years!). That’s why today, I never recommend over-focusing on anxiety attacks and symptoms. You DO have to deal with them, but not by immersing yourself in the problem.
The simple, straight-forward approach produces the best results, and thankfully, is also the easiest way to deal with anxiety. No struggling against it, and no fighting the symptoms.
Take Care,
Jon
Jon Mercer, MA
Personal Development Coach
www.easycalm.com
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October 29th, 2007 at 11:08 am
Thank you Jon for your informative articles. I started to suffer from anxiety attacks lately and your website really offers useful tips on how to overcome them.
November 27th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
cool web site
May 11th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Thank you Jon,
I’m so happy now that I discovered you and this website. Your audio is also much useful. I tried out the tips given by you I saw an immediate result.
Thank you again and again
Sreenivas Andoju
April 14th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Wow good stuff, thanks for the good read.
April 23rd, 2009 at 3:10 am
What an excellent blog, I’ve added your feed to my RSS reader.
May 14th, 2009 at 6:26 am
It’s sad that there are people who misunderstand anxiety attacks and their symptoms as they believe that those who suffer from it have all these negative thoughts and they dismiss them as just thoughts, that they are all in the mind.
Unfortunately, anti-anxiety relief techniques don’t really work because they require a lot of effort, willpower and determination from you to be able to cope with your anxiety attacks. But once you lose your willpower and determination, you would give up following the techniques and revert back to the way you were before, which is a person riddled with anxiety attacks.
The only effective way to overcome panic attacks is not to ignore your anxieties and fears but to change your self-image. It heavily influences the way you act and interact with people and if it’s affected by how you reacted to a bad experience or an inculcated belief that someone placed in your mind, then, it’s highly likely that every time you encounter a situation that reminds you of that painful experience or belief, you would feel a panic attack.
So, it’s important for you to assess the root cause of your anxieties and fears, Ask yourself why you feel anxious about a particular situation. And when you are able to know the real reason for your panic attack, learn from that and let go. Always remember your past successes to fuel you with courage and confidence to go about your daily living. Use your imagination to set realistic goals for yourself and act on them. This way, you would not only be able to deal with panic attacks but completely overcome them and never feel them anymore.
January 21st, 2010 at 1:41 pm
That’s a really fantastic post, I’ve been looking at information about anxiety attacks, it’s something I’ve dealt with most of my life and I’ve finally began to figure out how to fix it. I’m gonna bookmark your site, I’m glad I came across it, a nice change of pace :)…
January 23rd, 2010 at 6:15 pm
I’ve personally dealt with panic attacks my whole life. It started when I was just a kid and I’ve had to deal with them since then. I’ve finally figured out that has helped me get them done once and for all. I will tell you that it wasn’t quick or easy, but after a while I was able to finally get rid of them. I’m no longer dealing with them and its like I’ve started a new life not having panic attacks. I also saw a Dr. Oz special a few days ago, sometimes it isn’t a panic attack that is the root of the problem, I’d also recommend talking to your doctor. Best of luck!
February 24th, 2010 at 2:55 pm
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April 24th, 2010 at 11:31 am
Great article I share your views a hundred percent.
Its a head game and most people fall in their trap
June 12th, 2010 at 5:00 pm
I love it!
February 14th, 2011 at 7:10 pm
Keeping a record of your anxiety or panic attacks is one of the best solutions to understanding it, and finding out the ways to keeping your self calm amidst panic attacks.
August 28th, 2011 at 2:19 pm
hi its nice reading of other peoples mis-fortune with anxiety,i had it bad in 2009 and now its returned ive had alot to take on board&felt the symptoms gradually coming on,this time though i had experienced new symptoms the woozy head feeling&spacey type feeling and as i hadnt had this before it scared me&i thought i had got a brain condition ie tumour etc,thats how it gets to me and i worsen&constantly dwell on the symptom&thinking the worse,dont go out the house cant sleep no appetite,get the runs will my symptoms just continue if i cant switch off from the bad thoughts i hate it&my partner doesnt understand at all,anxiety is a evil thing&people dont no how bad it can affect you!!!!!!!
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