Am I having a heart attack? Am I dying? Or is it anxiety attack symptom? Many symptoms of anxiety mirror symptoms of other illnesses. This is because the ?fight or flight? response is triggered in anxiety attacks and the body will respond as if it is threatened. The heart will race; the breathing will become shallow, sweats will breakout over the body to keep it cool in preparation for flight, these are all signs of anxiety, or an anxiety attack. Attacking anxiety back and regaining control over your reflex responses will help reduce the number, frequency and severity of your anxiety symptoms.

An Anxiety Attack Symptom May Linger Past the Actual Event

There are therapies available that help to control anxiety attack symptoms because a lot people suffer from stress as well as anxiety to some extent or the other and these are only natural defense mechanisms though sometimes get out of control. The anxiety attack symptoms can be more than one can tolerate and sometimes this is known as Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). GAD is chronic by nature and the whole day the patient has exaggerated worry as well as tension in spite of the fact there is little stimulus to provoke anxiety attack symptoms.

The anxiety attack symptoms are nothing new and have affected as many as 20 million people in the US, which works out to be one in every 14 people! Such anxiety attack symptoms might include phobias, post-traumatic stress syndrome, hypertension as well as obsessive-compulsive behaviors.

Medication for Anxiety

One sure-fire way of stopping the anxiety attack symptoms is to take medication and this may help to break the cycle. A number of different and effective medications are available. An alternative to medication is therapy which is relatively inexpensive and even some employers may provide reimbursement for professional consultations. Some people may prefer breathing exercises, which may help alleviate the feelings of dread as well as work to prevent anxiety attacks. For places to find more information regarding anxiety attack symptoms one can consult books, videos as well as go online.

When a person feels extremes of fear one can safely assume that he or she is suffering from anxiety attack symptoms. However, the same person can have different signs as well as symptoms during an anxiety attack and most of the symptoms do not last more than half an hour. Apart from fear, there are other anxiety attack symptoms such as chest pain, dizziness or feeling light headed, afraid of losing control or doing an embarrassing thing. Sufferers fear feeling out of touch with reality and people and things surrounding that person, forebodings of doom, palpitations of the heart, sweating and trembling, stomach disorders, numbness in the hands or feet, and also, loss of breath.

In the case of panic or anxiety disorders the patient may have anxiety attacks that occur frequently and there may not be any reason or warning about these attacks. Also, the patient may fear having another anxiety attack. And, there may also be periods without any anxiety attack symptoms.