Mental Illness – Anxiety Attacks
Mental illness is a health problem that influences how an individual thinks, interacts and behaves with others. It affects one in five Australians at some point of their lives. This is because a majority of Australians are influenced by a variety of factors that impact on their wellbeing negatively such as prolonged stress, the use of drugs and alcohol, negative cognitive patterns, biological reasons and many more. This in the long run can affect an individual’s mental health making it harder for them to establish positive relationships, reach their fullest potential and face life challenges. A common mental illness is an ‘anxiety attack’, which has a variety of symptoms, conditions, treatments and
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shortness of breath and hyperventilation), dizziness, trembling, tense muscles, anxiousness and unreasonable thinking and a strong feeling of dread. The least common ones include a feeling of detachment from reality and the environment, meaning that they are oblivious to the world around them, thinking only about themselves and their thoughts. An example of this would be at a party; one moment you’re having fun with friends and strangers, then the next, everything around you seems a distance away, accompanied with a feeling of dread and negativity pounding against your head. Furthermore, another uncommon symptom of an anxiety attack would be when the ‘flight or fight’ response is triggered, even though there are no imminent dangers. This is basically when the body pumps a range of chemicals (e.g. adrenaline and stress chemicals) around your body in order to prepare you to either fight the danger, or flee the scene. Overall, the signs and symptoms associated with an anxiety attack may vary based on their thoughts, environment and wellbeing at the time.
The physical, emotional and psychological effects of an anxiety attack may vary based on the intensity and frequency of the attack. Severe anxiety attacks can cause the sufferer to develop prolonged physical symptoms until it is treated such as: trembling, constant sleepiness, dizziness and many more. This is because when an attack ends, the brain immediately becomes more active and sensitive than before. However,
The following essay will begin by demonstrating what is understood by the concept of mental health. It will attempt to identify different explanations for the underlying issues causing mental illnesses and it will then centre around a case study focusing specifically on one mental health problem. A description of what the causes and effects of the chosen illness will be given and information on the available treatment will be presented. To round up the assignment a brief explanation of the chosen case study will be included with an attempt to distinguish the common issues identified and how they relate to the literature information provided throughout. In this assignment, the case study chosen will target depression.
The panic disorder results from an anxiety disorder that causes panic attacks to happen. An example would be when the phone suddenly rings and it makes your heart start to race, or all of a sudden you feel this overwhelming sense of terror even though there is no reason for it. Panic attacks can cause severe physical reactions and sometimes they can feel frightening to the individual that is having the panic attack. The attack can last 10-20 minutes and sometimes it can continue for an hour if it is not controlled. Panic attacks have rushed people to the emergency rooms (ER) because it is frequently mistaken more than often of having all the symptoms of a heart attack, stroke or even a seizure. The symptoms that are characterized by this attack are: feeling weak all of a sudden, tingling or numbness in the hands and fingers, sense of terror of impending death or doom, feeling faint or lightheaded, sweaty hands, having body chills, chest pain, racing heart, breathing difficulties and feeling like your whole body is losing sense of
Your doctors will likely rule out any associated medical conditions first. Some medications or diseases can bring about a lot of the symptoms of an anxiety attack and so these need to be determined and dealt with first in order to eliminate any possible
It is a sudden episode of intense fear that triggers severe physical reactions when there is no real danger or apparent cause. Its symptoms are: sense of impending doom or danger, trembling or shaking, and loss of control. If you have panic attack symptoms, seek medical help as soon as possible. Panic attacks, while intensely uncomfortable, are not dangerous. But panic attacks are hard to manage on your own, and they may get worse without treatment.
“Anxiety is … an unpleasant sense of apprehension often accompanied by symptoms such as headaches, perspiration, heart palpitation, stomach discomfort, and restlessness”_. Anxiety is experienced as a general state of insecurity and agitation and can often appear exaggerated or out of proportion to what triggers it, if an awareness of the trigger exists. Anxiety can occur with or without panic attacks, an intense fear with physiological symptoms that can often be misinterpreted as a heart attack.
Sensory input rushing throughout the nervous system can overwhelm feelings causing them to develop into a panic attack. Panic attack symptoms can make one feel short of breath, dizzy, flushed, nauseated, and cause the heart to pound. Attacks can include many of these symptoms: rapid heart rate, sweating, chest pain, trembling, tightness in the throat, chills, hot flashes, and a sense of impending doom.
As Kacey was interview her first anxiety attack she realized that she had when she started having to talk to people without her parents. Kacey told me that she would start to get nervous when she had to speak to the doctor, bank teller, a service clerk, or anyone she did not know, eventually she knew something wasn’t right. Not being able to concentrating on a certain activity but also not being able to fall asleep because your mind is everywhere. Another type of anxiety is what we call stage fright. For example, being called in front of the class or a group of people and being unable to respond or your voice starts to crack or sweaty palms. There are many times when your anxiety can be very bad that you start to break out in a rash because you are so nervous of confrontation. When somebody starts to yell at you or even confront you, you may start crying or even become teary eyed because you can’t handle the fact that a person is talking to you in a loud angry voice. Even though you might think you have these signs it doesn’t necessarily mean you have anxiety you still need to speak with your physician so they can diagnose you.
All the different types of anxiety disorders have common symptoms like feeling nervous, powerless, having a sense of impending danger, panic or doom and trouble concentrating on anything other than the present worry. The common physical symptoms of the illnesses include an increased heart rate, sweating, trembling, rapid breathing and feeling weak or
When a person is feeling in danger or threatened in anyway, “a person feels physical sensations of anxiety – things like a faster heartbeat and breathing, tense muscles, sweaty palms, and a queasy stomach, and trembling hands or legs,” (Anxiety Disorders). Even though those symptoms are the most common symptoms there are also other symptoms for or types of anxiety. For example with separation anxiety a person may have the symptoms listed above as well as getting to sleep or staying asleep, headaches, and problems paying attention, (Anxiety Disorders in Children and Teens). Most people do not understand the difference between serious anxiety symptoms and everyday anxiety symptoms but here is the difference… Everyday symptoms are symptoms that everyone gets such as sweaty palms before presenting in front of the class or slightly shaky hands where people with serious anxiety problems feel like they are about to physically die, they are paralyzed and do not know what to do with themselves. It may be hard to tell the difference between the everyday symptoms of anxiety and the serious symptoms but keep in mind if you ever feel like you physically cannot leave to do something such as leave your chair to go present in front of your classmates you might be showing serious signs of anxiety. Therefore because serious anxiety symptoms have to be shown in order to diagnose anxiety, it is not over-diagnosed in
An anxiety attack is “the abrupt onset of intense fear or discomfort that reaches a peak within minutes”. Physical symptoms of an attack include palpitations, sweating, trembling and fear of losing control. This photo series aims to depict and bring awareness to this physical and mental aggression.
It can cause panic attacks or many other physical effects. Stress from anxiety can be very common it’s important to learn how manage stress and anxiety. Practicing deep breathing and talking to a friend can be very helpful. If dealing with a panic attack it’s important to help that person calm down. Learning how to deal with stress is very important to your
Anxiety is one of those things that everybody gets in small doses. Stereotypically when someone says anxiety most think of someone hyperventilating and about to pass out when in a confined space. This isn’t exactly the case but this could be an extreme case of an anxiety attack. All the same everybody anxiety impacts everyone. Whether you are about to
When someone has an Anxiety attack it’s their bodies accepted reaction to danger. Anxiety is an instinctive warning signal that activates when you feel, under stress, or face to face with a stressful condition. Anxiety helps one stay alarmed and attentive it kicks you to action. It’s very consistent or overbearing, when it effects your doings, their body could possibly stop being efficient. Usually that’s when you have crossed the normal line of useful anxiety to the territory of true anxiety syndromes.
Anxiety is triggered mostly in the mind and is psychological. It can cause shaking, perspiration and increased heart beat. Severe cases would need therapy and medication to help control it as it is more to do with mental health rather than physical health.
The body prepares to deal with a threat: blood pressure and heart rate are increased, sweating is increased, blood flow to the major muscle groups is increased, and immune and digestive system functions are inhibited (the fight or flight response). External signs of anxiety may include pale skin, sweating, trembling, and pupillary dilation. Someone who has anxiety might also experience it as a sense of dread or panic. Although panic attacks are not experienced by every person who has anxiety, they are a common symptom. Panic attacks usually come without warning, and although the fear is generally irrational, the perception of danger is very real. A person experiencing a panic attack will often feel as if he or she is about to die, pass out or lose the