Anxiety Panic Disorder:
Why You Can't Ignore Your Anxiety Panic Disorder

Everyone feels anxious or stressed out from time to time. Anxiety, in fact, can be a good thing; it means our brains are responding to pressure situations by giving our bodies the extra "push" they need to perform well.

The ability to concentrate when studying for an important exam, or to react instantaneously to a dangerous situation by getting out of the way, are both instances in which heightened physical responses benefit us.

But when our bodies operate as if every moment of every day presents a threat to their survival, we are suffering from anxiety disorder. And those who find themselves afflicted with sudden, unfounded episodes of debilitating terror, as one in every seventy-five humans will do during his or her lifetime, are victims of panic attacks.

When someone suffers panic attacks on a regular basis, they have an anxiety panic disorder. The U.S National Institute of Mental Health has estimated that some three to six million American adults are afflicted with anxiety panic disorder. Most who experience a panic attack never have a recurrence, but those who have anxiety panic disorder, unless they get treatment, are in danger of losing their ability to function.

Among the symptoms of anxiety panic disorder are intense terror, fear of death, shortness of breath, vertigo, chills, numbness in the extremities, and elevated heart rate. Twice as many women as men suffer from anxiety panic disorder, and anxiety panic disorder will often lead to depression or phobia.

Some people are so traumatized by their panic attacks that they can no longer return to those places where they had them. If this happens often enough, victims of anxiety panic disorder may find their list of "safe" places so limited that they have developed a secondary clinical disorder, agoraphobia, or "fear of the marketplace".

Agoraphobia keeps people from even the simplest of tasks, like taking their children to school, going to church, or shopping for groceries. They are essentially prisoners in their own homes. Agoraphobia, which develops in nearly one-third of anxiety panic disorder sufferers, is one of its most serious consequences.

There is, however, hope. Medical treatments for anxiety panic disorders include both prescription drug regimens, to reduce the symptoms of the condition, and behavioral therapy, to help its victims confront and overcome their terror. These treatments are most effective when combined.

Behavioral therapy for anxiety panic disorder can include learning both relaxation and meditation techniques, and exposure, or desensitization, therapy. Desensitization therapy requires the anxiety panic disorder victims to place themselves, for gradually increasing periods of time, in those situations which they find most frightening. As they become more comfortable, their tolerance increases and their anxiety is eventually eliminated.

Both anti-depressants and benzodiazepines are prescription medications used as treatments for anxiety panic disorder.

Anxiety panic disorder is one of the most debilitating conditions you will ever experience. If you think you are developing it, please consult with a medical expert as quickly as you can!

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