Test Anxiety- Nothing New But Needs Care

January 13, 2011 by · 3 Comments
Filed under: Anxiety Treatments 

Students, generally, carry some sort of pressure to perform. Naturally, they would like to excel, which may or may not be for self satisfaction. It is important to them that they make their parents feel proud about them, understandably so. However, the pressure even increases two fold, test anxiety may take over.

Test anxiety occurs quite normally in people. Anyone who has ever taken a test knows what it takes to fail and go through incredible cramming sessions and incessant writing of notes and also a complete blank-out in the head. However, test anxiety is the easiest to overcome. But test anxiety sometimes projects as an anxiety disorder. Diagnoses may get a little hard if it happens so.

Sweaty palms are the most easily viewable symptoms of test anxiety. This is considered to be the most primitive and normal test anxiety. Fear creeps in with a sense of malaise and students tend to overcome these symptoms by adopting a few measures first up. A few tips are mentioned below:

1. planning study rather than just cramming
2. undergoing practice tests
3. deep and concentrated breathing before an exam
4. self-affirmation before a test
5. Taking extra tutoring prior to a big exam, if the problems happen to be with materials. A good guidance can always be a healthy booster
6. Speaking out your fears with family and friends

But for few students, unfortunately, test anxiety goes over board. The symptoms are more serious if it is a more aggressive anxiety disorder. Fear, insomnia, heart palpitations and fear are the extra symptoms to worry about. This is mostly the case if the symptoms repeat frequently prior to the tests. In most of the cases, the techniques of relaxation for a normal test anxiety may not have a major impact on people who suffer from full fledged anxiety disorder.

If you ever suspect a anxiety disorder, you should be smart enough a person to seek advice medically. The treatments help you in a big way to overcome this disorder and make life more peaceful and less complicated. If the anxiety in you goes beyond a point, it is very important you seek good advice. Anxiety disorders might be terrible if left unchecked.

Test anxiety is something that occurs to anyone. Almost everyone experiences it in life. However, it is better to get checked if the problem seems to persist or looks to be severe. Otherwise, there is absolutely no reason why you should panic. Panic makes things only complicated.

Abhishek Agarwal
http://www.articlesbase.com/mental-health-articles/test-anxiety-nothing-new-but-needs-care-709368.html

Panic Attacks Symptoms – What Really Happens During An Attack

February 25, 2010 by · 4 Comments
Filed under: Coping and Overcoming Anxiety 

When someone suffers a panic attack, they may not realize they are suffering from it. Many people react with different emotions from anxiety related situations. Many of these same people do not understand the symptoms behind this disorder. For each person, there several ways a panic attack manifests itself.

Psychological and physical symptoms are typical experiences behind the disorder. How a person shows their symptoms can vary from some to all.

Panic attacks begin from the psychological symptoms. When the person goes into the anxiety state, they start to think and feel certain ways. They start off by worrying; have fears, dread and overall anxiety about a certain situations.

Sometimes, they feel as if they will die due to a fear of the situation. Sometimes, the panic attack can paralyze someone from thinking, pausing them in their steps. The fear is so strong it overwhelms the person into reacting into a physical state beyond the psychological state.

Part of the reason people begin feeling the physical symptoms and signs is that the panic attacks go throughout the body which want it to either fight or flight. If a person is faced with a panic induced situation, the body wants to fight to overcome it or flee from the bad place. This is the part that is psychological. From the symptoms of panic attacks make it anxiety worse, possibly even bigger than it should be.

Example: Think of yourself in a major car accident. You are seriously injured and have to recover in a hospital and take time off of work to heal. Yet, you heal and get better. But…you are afraid to be in a car or perhaps behind the wheel. Afraid the accident may occur once again. You see the accident occurring time and again and it makes you feel out of control. This is a panic attack.

Panic Attack Signs and Symptoms –

* Heart beats faster
* Heart palpitations
* Tightening in the chest that feels like a heart attack.(This is normal of a terrifying situation.)
* Stomach upset
* Diarrhea
* Headache
* Nausea

Neurological Symptoms of Panic Attacks – this can make you feel like you are having a seizure.
* Twitches
* Jitters
* Other movements that are involuntary

The body goes through internal temperature shifts, causing chills or hot flashes.

Nearly everyone experiences at least one of these symptoms of panic attacks. Peak times are between ten minutes and can last up to thirty minutes.

Should a person circumvent and control the psychological symptoms, then you can stave off the physical ones. However, if it seems this not possible, then seeking medical help is necessary so the attacks do not get worse and interrupt the person’s life completely. By learning coping techniques and working with the doctor, it is possible to eliminate the attacks and live life again.

Abhishek Agarwal
http://www.articlesbase.com/mental-health-articles/panic-attacks-symptoms-what-really-happens-during-an-attack-709409.html

5 Sure Ways To Identify Social Anxiety Disorder

December 2, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Symptoms Of Panic Attacks 

Distinguishing Social Anxiety Disorder from other diseases

Anxiety Disorder has been classes within it. The one that many people suffer from is social anxiety. Its symptoms are so strong that some people will use defense mechanisms such as complete avoidance of triggers to keep people away from them.

For those around sufferers with social anxiety, they need to watch out for those symptoms that can make the person completely isolated. For the friend or family member of the person suffering, convincing them to seek help is imperative. Getting control of said disease can lead these people to lead a much healthier life.

Since social anxiety is one of several scenarios that have symptoms that mimic several other diseases, a physician should determine what is the root of the problem. Only getting an official diagnosis can determine if a person does have social anxiety. This means even if a person has a fear of speaking in front of people among other things, they should still be checked out.

Five symptoms of Social Anxiety

There a five symptoms behind this illness. Most of them are quite common for sufferers. They are:

1. Dizziness – This can present itself in the center of anxiety producing social interaction. It can also happen right before someone does something that requires talking in front of people. Dizziness can also be a result to other conditions so it is best to get a physician’s opinion.

2. Heart palpitations – Heartbeat begin to pick up and race with chest pains as well as general discomfort. Heart palpitations is also a sign of a heart attack. A person should be seen by a doctor in case of worsening symptoms.

3. Nausea, complaints of stomach ache – This is an ailment seen in many illnesses as well as social anxiety.

4. Sweating, blushing and trembling – Outward signs of social anxiety disorder especially if it is seen while the person is speaking or in otherwise uncomfortable situations.

5. Other symptoms – Some symptoms that have been reported are: concentration loss, sleep or enjoy life. Some people actually experience headaches, tightening throat, dry mouth, chills and malaise.

Social Anxiety Presentation –

This disease presents itself as a total fear of a certain social situations. It can impact inside as well as outside the home life. In many severe cases, people will withdraw themselves from situations that make them uncomfortable and trigger fear feelings.

A doctor should see the sufferer to rule out in other causes behind the symptoms. Should it be social anxiety, then the person who is suffering has a good chance of getting the help they need to be “cured”.

With a combination of drugs and therapy and either or, the person can regain control over their life and face social stimulations with little or no fear. Being a bit fearful of public speaking or meeting new people is normal; yet when the fear takes over, there is something more going on inside the person.

Abhishek Agarwal
http://www.articlesbase.com/mental-health-articles/5-sure-ways-to-identify-social-anxiety-disorder-709415.html

Cognitive-behavioral Therapy’s Answer to Panic Attacks

People who suffer from panic attacks experience symptoms such as heart palpitations, sweating, loss of control, feelings of impending doom, disorientation, and feeling trapped. Although those who suffer from this disorder feel debilitated, it is one of the most manageable syndromes to treat through the use of cognitive-behavioral therapy.

When people first come for cognitive-behavioral therapy, they may indicate that they have received prior counseling, have made innumerable visits to doctors, and have been treated in emergency rooms for symptoms associated with their anxiety. Patients are usually desperate for answers to alleviate their on-going struggle with panic. Patients are relieved to know that their symptoms are treatable through the use of cognitive-behavioral therapy. Often, patients feel that they are going crazy, although they need to be reassured that having “crazy” feelings is a cognitive distortion and is vastly different from those who might be considered clinically crazy.

Most individuals know the time-frame when they first started experiencing panic attacks. There may have been triggering events that fostered the emergence of panic. The patient may be unable to make an association between the panic and a painful triggering experience. Factors such as a significant illness, job stress, family abuse/ trauma, losing a loved one, and lacking emotional expressiveness may create conditions ripe for panic. Once a panic attack erupts, further attacks usually follow if an individual is not aware of the cycle of self-defeating thinking and behavior which sustains the panic process.

The key to curtailing panic is to help people understand that it’s the secondary symptoms that keep the panic alive. In other words, it’s the “panic over the panic” that sustains the panic pattern. With cognitive-behavioral therapy, recovery involves educating the sufferer on ways to respond to their self-defeating thought processes during the onset of their attack. For example, let’s say that you are taking a mid-term exam during college. You open up the test booklet and immediately react by saying, “Oh my God, none of this material looks familiar; there’s no way that I can pass this test; if I flunk this test, I might fail this course for the semester; if my parents find out, there’s going to be hell to pay!” In contrast, you can learn to respond rationally by saying, “Wow, some of this stuff doesn’t look familiar; just take some deep breaths and relax; I guess I better survey the whole test, answer the questions that I can and then go back and work on the other one’s; I can tackle this test, I just need to relax and be patient!”

How one responds to panic determines whether it subsides. Those who fight with their panic by “awfulizing” about their symptoms, intensify their panic. They may say, “Oh my God, here come those unbearable feelings again – I feel like I’m going to die!” However those who accept their panic and respond rationally with thoughts like, “Here comes that panic again – just calm down and take those deep breaths and it will eventually subside. These feelings won’t last forever, they are time-limited – they’ll be gone soon.”

Learning through cognitive-behavioral therapy to go “down stream” with panic is important to its eradication. Those who “catastrophize” about their symptoms intensify panic attacks. Learning to rationally respond to panic diminishes its effect. Trying to figure out what caused an individual’s panic is not necessary to treat it. What is essential is teaching those who suffer from panic to respond with positive self-talk.

People who experience panic attacks tend to feel ashamed of their problem. It is important for sufferers to understand that they are not alone – anxiety is apart of the human condition. Anxiety and panic is not unusual and those who experience it need to learn to be more open and expressive with all of their feelings. Sharing a wide range of emotions with those you can trust is essential to the healing process. Those who hide panic as a shame-based pattern set themselves up to repeat it. When those we trust are aware of our authentic self, which includes our vulnerability, our anxiety problems tend to fade in significance.

Paradoxical interventions can be helpful in dealing with panic disorder. Having a patient schedule a panic time and encouraging them to perseverate can bring humor and assist in breaking the panic cycle. A ruminating patient might be asked to conduct cardiovascular exercises during panic-related chest tightness to try to lighten the moment and break the cycle of suffering. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a structured, pragmatic approach which assists people in addressing the symptoms of panic by learning to respond to the disorder with a positive approach to their thinking.

By: James P Krehbiel (Free Download Anxiety Treatment eBook)

About the Author:

James P. Krehbiel, Ed.S., LPC, CCBT is an author, freelance writer, and nationally certified cognitive-behavioral therapist practicing in Scottsdale, Arizona. His personal growth book, Stepping Out of the Bubble is available at www.booklocker.com. James can be reached at www.krehbielcounseling.com.


Anxiety Panic Attack – What to Do When it Strikes

There are nearly three million people in the United States who suffer from anxiety panic attacks. When a person is stressed, the normal reaction that follows is that of a feeling of anxiety, which can actually be helpful in some situations. However, if a person’s anxiety becomes excessively frequent and uncontrollable, it has become a disorder. Panic attacks are the next step up from anxiety. An anxiety panic attack takes place when a person experiences sudden and overwhelming feelings of fear for no apparent reason. Symptoms include breathing difficulties, heart palpitations, trembling, chills, dizziness, and nausea.

An anxiety panic attack is more intense and the feelings experienced are seemingly more uncontrollable. For those who suffer from this disorder, there are several treatments available for you to use. Here are some ideas on what to do when it strikes.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is often recommended by physicians as a means of controlling anxiety panic attacks. Basically, the patient is taught to perceive their anxiety attacks in a different manner, which then enables the person to effectively control the way he or she reacts to the surroundings. This therapy has worked for many people, but as with any medical treatment, no one thing works the same for every person. However, when it is in effect, the chances of anxiety panic attacks returning is very low.

Another treatment option for people who suffer from anxiety panic attacks is desensitization. For those who experience intense fears and are bordering on phobias, this temporary treatment option could work. By exposing the patient to their fear in small dosages, he can eventually become desensitized to the fear and manage it more effectively. The down side to this treatment option is that the chances of the anxiety panic attacks returning are very high. The patient could develop a new fear to replace the old one or experience the old fear more intensely at another time.

Some individuals have also reported great success in managing their anxiety panic attacks following treatments of ‘tapping’ or energy psychology. The physician applies pressure or performs a tapping motion to specific pressure points on the body, which is said to relieve the feeling of anxiety. This thus reduces the probability of panic attacks from developing.

Medications are sometimes prescribed as an effective treatment option for anxiety panic attacks. Ask your physician about the medications used to treat this challenging disorder.

Herbal remedies should not be discounted as a possible treatment for these attacks as well. It is a natural approach to the problem, there are no side effects to the mind or body, and the herbs used help to alleviate the symptoms associated with anxiety panic attacks.

More immediate strategies for handling an anxiety panic attack include breathing exercises, thinking positively through the attack, and not fighting the feelings of panic. Allow the feelings of fear and panic to pass by breathing through them and focusing on a separate object or person. Remember never to run away from your fear! It may only get worse if you do not confront it directly. Remind yourself that the attack will pass eventually. Also, as you learn to manage your anxiety panic attacks properly, reward yourself for your accomplishments at the same time. Thus, understanding what you should do when an anxiety panic attack strikes enables you to better manage and control the condition effectively.

By: Ian Spencer (Download Free Anxiety Treatment)

About the Author:

Ian Spencer is an expert in solving anxiety and stress problems at http://www.Anxiety-Help.org. Where he provides anxiety help advice to treat panic attacks and severe anxiety. Click Here to get your FREE anxiety analysis done online today.


Just the Facts About Anxiety Attacks

June 15, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Other Anxiety Related Articles 

Anxiety attacks are more common than most people realize. When someone starts to experience panic or anxiety attacks, they tend to keep it to themselves and not tell others about it. It is not uncommon to feel a lot of shame related to having anxiety attacks, and many people hide their problem from the world because of this.

Anxiety, panic and stress are the number one health problems in America, so you are definitely not alone in dealing with your anxiety attacks. A panic or anxiety attack can be described as a sudden and intense feeling of fear, accompanied by several types of physical discomfort.

The physical symptoms differ from person to person, but there are a few that are reported by a lot of anxiety sufferers. These symptoms include, but are not necessarily limited to sweating, numbness or tingling in the arms, chills or hot flashes, trembling or shaking, shortness of breath or feeling like you are choking, chest tightness or pain, heart palpitations or fast heart rate, nausea or upset stomach, feeling dizzy, lightheaded, or faint, feelings of detachment or being in a different reality, fear of losing control or going crazy, fear of dying.

The physical symptoms that come with anxiety attacks are not dangerous, but they can be extremely uncomfortable. Some people are able to keep their panic symptoms hidden when it happens, and others have very visible physical symptoms that others can see. Both types of attacks can be equally painful and scary to go through.

Panic disorder is not the same as anxiety attacks. Anxiety disorder is a diagnosis used when someone is experiencing recurrent anxiety attacks over time and in addition spend time between the attacks worrying about the next one. Anxiety attacks can also occur on their own, and many people only experience a few of them without ever developing panic disorder.

Although it feels like a lot longer, most panic and anxiety attacks peak within ten minutes and pass within twenty to thirty minutes. This doesn’t seem like much to someone who has never experienced a panic attacks, but when you are in that situation, it can feel like it’ll never end. It may help however, to look at our watch when you are experiencing anxiety attacks and remind yourself that it will not go on for very long. This can give you some comfort, and it can help ground you to “reality” so you’re not as inward focused.

Panic and anxiety attacks do not only occur in adults. Even though they are often overlooked, the medical community is starting to realize that anxiety and panic is also quite common in children and teens. It can be difficult to recognize anxiety attack in children because they don’t have the same ability to communicate what they are experiencing as adults have.

It is suspected that a lot of the psychological problems people experience as adults really start when they are children. Fortunately, anxiety in children is very treatable when it is taken seriously and given the proper medical attention.

Panic and anxiety attacks can feel very traumatic and they can seriously limit your life if you let them. Fortunately, anxiety treatment has very good results, and the majority of anxiety sufferers are cured of their symptoms.

By: Jon Mercer (Free Download Anxiety Treatment eBook)

About the Author:

Discover the Secret to Eliminating Anxiety Attacks
Breakthrough Video Training Stops Anxiety Symptoms!


Controlling Anxiety Attacks – Stop Them Now And Forever

The anxiety disorder itself can be very detrimental to your well-being and overall general health if not treated. Some victims do not experience any physical symptoms of the disorder until the anxiety attack occurs.

Physical manifestations of the problem may result in extreme cases of anxiety. In this article, we will examine the meaning of anxiety and learn new ideas of possible treatments to rid ourselves of anxiety and panic attacks.

Anxiety is considered by some peoples definition as a flurry of emotions coming at you at once. They mostly include fear and worry that wont seem to go away. These emotions affect your daily life and in most cases develop into other serious problems such as depression. Some signs of anxiety beginning can be nausea, shortness of breath, and heart palpitations(excessive beating of the heart.)

Due to several causes, there are many different types of anxiety that one may experience. Some suffer from obsessive compulsive disorders that cause them to feel incessantly anxious when performing their normal everyday routines, while others experience it due to a case of social anxiety (the feeling of the need to belong.)

There are many different options to consider when it comes to treating cases of anxiety disorders.

As the first step in the fight against anxiety, for some time now, doctors have recommended a class of drugs known as benzodiazaphenes. Diazepam, known more commonly by its trade name, Valium, is one of the most common benzodiazaphenes. Anti-depressant drugs, or Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, or SSRIs, also have shown themselves to be helpful when it comes to treating anxiety.

Instead of seeking doctor-prescribed solutions, unfortunately, many people with cases of anxiety indulge in “self-prescribed” medications. Alcohol being one of the most popular of “solutions”. To help those who are pent up to loosen up and lose their inhibitions alcohol has been used as a substitute for anti-anxiety drugs.

There are drugs specifically prescribed by a medical professional for those who self-medicate. A popular herbal supplement known as ‘kava” is taken by some patients to alleviate their symptoms. Techniques such as meditation and relaxation are useful to some in warding off anxiety. If this is a technique that works for you, go ahead and lay out that yoga mat and light up those scented candles and relax!

Just remember, speaking to a trained psychologist should be the first step when it comes to diagnosing anxiety. A solution is very likely to be found, by observing the patient’s behavior and comparing their symptoms to those found in the DSM-IV, a popular diagnostic manual for mental health.

It is important that you speak to a qualified professional regarding the problem, if you suspect that you are or someone you know is currently experiencing anxiety. Millions suffer from anxiety daily and if gone untreated it can become a serious problem. Just know that it is up to you to decide that you do not want to be one of the millions anymore.

It is important not to take anxiety lightly since it can be such a life altering problem.

By: Nicole Ross (Free Treatment for Anxiety eBook)

About the Author:

To find more information on controlling anxiety attacks and how to be rid of them altogether, visit my controlling anxiety attacks website. I reveal all the secrets to managing anxiety attacks and how to overcome them. The address is http://www.squidoo.com/controlling_anxiety_attacks


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