Believe it or not, stress and anxiety do have their places in our daily lives. Anxiety, in the proper amount, can be a powerfully motivating force that can catapult an artist to reach the zenith of his self-expression, or it can motivate the everyday person to lose weight in preparation for a future special event. More importantly, anxiety alerts us to dangers and inspires us to act decisively to remove ourselves from dangerous situations. Consequently, anxious feelings are actually healthy and propel us to better places in life. However, at a certain point, stress and anxiety become unhealthy, especially when those feelings begin to impede a person’s ability to act and to make progressive steps toward personal improvement. For instance, a person may be anxious about things that he cannot control or that have not happened yet and, as a result, may become immobilized to the extent that he can no longer act to correct the situation. When confronting such intense stress anxiety symptoms and the anxiety issues that produce them, it is extremely imperative that the person learn how to deal with anxiety.

Identifying the Problem

Unfortunately, some people have anxiety disorders or panic disorders and may not even realize it. One such disorder is a panic attack, an episode of intense fear that suddenly overtakes an individual for no perceptible reason and that triggers severe physical reactions. Once dismissed as nerves or stress, these attacks are now classified as a real medical condition. Therefore, the first step that a person must take in learning how to deal with anxiety is that of recognizing certain symptoms. The symptoms may include some or all of the following symptoms:

• Rapid heart rate
• Dizziness
• A sense of impending doom or death
• Fainting
• Chest pain
• Shortness of breath
• Hot flashes
• Sweating
• Chills
• Hyperventilation
• Tightness in the throat
• Abdominal Cramping
• Headache
• Trouble swallowing
• Nausea
• Trembling

Since panic attacks occur suddenly and unexpectedly when the person may be carrying on daily activities like driving to the store or being in the middle of an office meeting, they often create within the person an intense fear of subsequent panic attacks. When a person experiences four or more attacks and has spent a month or more fearing that more attacks will occur, they may have panic disorder, a form of chronic anxiety disorder. In such cases, a person may avoid the location where the panic attacks occurred in the past, or they may simply stay within the confines of their home, restricting their freedom to experience life to the fullest degree. As a result, only by seeking medical help can a person who is dealing with these symptoms learn how to handle anxiety.

The Physician’s Role in Showing Panic Attack Sufferers How to Deal with Anxiety

For one thing, it is essential that a person who is dealing with panic attack symptoms be evaluated by his health care provider, since such symptoms often resemble other serious health problems like heart attacks. Additionally, the physician will provide a diagnosis for the symptoms and suggestions for effective strategies that will eliminate the symptoms or allow the patient to effectively cope with his condition. In order to pinpoint an accurate diagnosis, therefore, the physician will often request that the patient undergo a physical exam that will include measuring height and weight, checking the vital signs of heart rate and blood pressure, listening to the heart and lungs, and examining the abdominal area. Also, the doctor will require certain laboratory tests such as a complete blood count, a thyroid test, and other blood tests.

The doctor will also likely perform a psychological evaluation of the patient’s mental health, asking for a detailed description of his symptoms that will likely include information about the severity, frequency, and timing of the symptoms and the length of time that such symptoms have been experienced. Additionally, the physician will request information about the stressful situations that the patient is dealing with as well as the fears and concerns of the patient.

Finally, the doctor will compare the patient’s test results with the criteria spelled out in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders to see if the patient is dealing with a full-blown panic disorder. The criteria, which includes frequent, unexpected panic attacks, persistent anxiety about the possibility of having another panic attack that lasts a month or more, persistent fear of the results of an attack, significant changes in the patient’s behavior, and lack of substance abuse as a contributing factor in the panic attacks, are extremely helpful in assisting mental health providers in diagnosing panic disorder.

Types of Treatments and Drugs

Psychotherapy, also referred to as counseling or talk therapy, is quite beneficial in assisting the patient in understanding panic attacks and achieving the personal development recommended. Additionally, certain medications can help minimize the symptoms associated with panic attacks. These medicines may include:

• Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
• Serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors
• Tricyclic antidepressants
• Benzodiazepines

The first prescription choice for many doctors is that of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, primarily because of the fact that patients typically experience few negative side effects after taking them. In addition to the other drugs that can be used, doctors may prescribe drugs that provide anxiety relief fast. Learning how to deal with anxiety may also require that the patient be willing to practice relaxation training techniques such as deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation. In other cases, the patient may seek alternative treatments like acupuncture or other natural solutions.