One of the things about anxiety attacks that makes them so frightening is that they seem to come on so suddenly and without warning. Once the attack is taking place it can be so overwhelming it becomes all we think about and the rest of our life has to take a back seat until it has run it course.



Those experiencing anxiety disorder say they are having feelings of unreality or feeling as if they are going insane. This is not however, what is happening to the anxiety sufferer. It may be how they describe their feelings, but the truth is anxiety is a function of the nervous system, not the brain. The truth is anxiously ill people are typical well adjusted and of a stable mind. Their problem is adrenaline runs wildly through their bodies and this, in turn is brings on feelings of unreality and such.

This article speaks about what actually is happening when an anxiety or panic attack is occurring and also discusses how to prevent panic from occurring. Also, we discuss what to do that will help stop further panic attacks from starting.

Keeping it Loose

We often here the old saying, "go with the flow." With anxiety disorder these are very wise words. Nervousness is a human response to fighting or running away from something. So, when our nervousness brings about feelings that are very uncomfortable, often we respond by fighting or running away from these feelings. This is leads to the nervousness intensifying and this nervousness may before long, turn into a full blown panic attack.

Other times anxiety when it strikes, is so disconcerting to the sufferer, he or she becomes determined to never let an episode of this terrible thing to ever hit again. This makes the person tense up up and be constantly looking over his or her shoulder for any sign these awful feelings are returning. This is also a way to create anxiety.

Sooner or later, panic attacks always end. When they do they often leave us totally spent. It is at this time we start to put our guards up against any signs of another one coming. This "putting our guard up" is a form a fighting or running away, and so it increases the chance another panic attack will come on soon.

Fighting is a sure fire way to turn ordinary nervousness into full fledged panic. Without fighting we can start to turn the corner on panic attacks, even though it will take some time for panic attacks to stop coming back after we learn just how to do this. Still, when we are always looking out for, shying away from and forcing panic away, we are inviting it.

A Passive Attitude

The bottom line is, learning to give up fighting and stopping running away from panic is the key to gaining freedom from it. For a while after we give up fighting, panic will still visit us but it will quickly lose is sting as we accept it.

To put it another way, anxiety disorder becomes less and less prominent in one's life once he or she learns how to disregard the feelings of unreality and all the other bewildering and horrible feelings anxiety brings about. It is when we accept these feelings are nothing more than tricks brought on by adrenaline flowing through our veins that we stop aiding anxiety's terror and start on the path to becoming free of panic attacks forever.