Panic Attacks Are More Common Than People Realise
In my counselling practice I see many clients who are suffering anxiety attacks.
A certain amount of stress can be part of everyday life.
We all have times where we worry about some perceived stressful event, such as speaking in public or an upcoming job interview.
However sometimes that stress becomes overwhelming and we begin to suffer a sense of anxiety that takes over our lives.
Having an anxiety attack is a frightening experience.
The symptoms are both emotional and physical.
More or less all the anxiety symptoms are quite well known because over the years people have experienced anxiety.
The usual symptoms are prolific sweating, 'lump in the throat', palpitations, twitching, dry mouth, chest pain and shortness of breath or wheezing.
Whilst these experiences are very synonymous with anxiety attacks, it is always important to visit your GP to eliminate any physical reasons for these symptoms.
Don't be worried about visiting your GP, as I have said, anxiety attacks are much more common than people realise and your GP will have seen many, many patients who are have had the same experiences as you are having.
so don't feel that you are different, or be embarrassed.
I cant say this too many times...
ANXIETY ATTACKS ARE VERY COMMON! When people experience anxiety attacks (panic attacks) they often feel that they are the only one, that they are going mad, that there is something terribly wrong with them, that they should be embarrassed, that they are weak etc etc.
The fact is that a huge percentage of people will experience an anxiety attack at least once in their lives.
The problem that occurs is what I call the "WHAT IF" experience.
It goes like this...
1.
You experience a panic attack because you are under some stress, either current or from the past or a mixture of the two 2.
It feels so awful, so terrifying, and embarrassing 3.
You think "WHAT IF" it happens again 4.
Those "WHAT IF" worries induce another anxiety attack 5.
It feels so awful, so terrifying, and embarrassing ...
and so a cycle of anxiety is formed.
The trick is to get to the root of what has caused you to feel so stressed in the first place.
CAUSES OF ANXIETY ATTACKS Think about your current situation.
How is your work, income, relationships, health etc? Are you still carry some pain from your childhood? A past relationship? Do you lack self confidence? There may be some external factor that is causing your anxiety; perhaps you are in a difficult and damaging relationship, or perhaps you are in the wrong job.
On the other hand there may be some traumatic incident which took place in your past which is the cause.
Very often anxiety is caused by both of these.
You may be in an unhelpful situation now, due to a lack of self esteem brought on by past issues.
Perhaps you keep getting into unhelpful situations because of the past and this just feeds your low self esteem.
In either case counselling can help to alleviate and manage anxiety.
A good counsellor will help you to look at past incidents, to express the pain and anger you feel and let go of all that hurt.
A good counsellor will also be able to help you to build your self esteem and help you to make changes in your current situation.
Counselling offers you a safe and confidential space to speak freely and to explore your experiences so that you can make sense of your feelings.
If you are experiencing anxiety attacks you may find counselling really helpful.
New Perspectives Counselling
A certain amount of stress can be part of everyday life.
We all have times where we worry about some perceived stressful event, such as speaking in public or an upcoming job interview.
However sometimes that stress becomes overwhelming and we begin to suffer a sense of anxiety that takes over our lives.
Having an anxiety attack is a frightening experience.
The symptoms are both emotional and physical.
More or less all the anxiety symptoms are quite well known because over the years people have experienced anxiety.
The usual symptoms are prolific sweating, 'lump in the throat', palpitations, twitching, dry mouth, chest pain and shortness of breath or wheezing.
Whilst these experiences are very synonymous with anxiety attacks, it is always important to visit your GP to eliminate any physical reasons for these symptoms.
Don't be worried about visiting your GP, as I have said, anxiety attacks are much more common than people realise and your GP will have seen many, many patients who are have had the same experiences as you are having.
so don't feel that you are different, or be embarrassed.
I cant say this too many times...
ANXIETY ATTACKS ARE VERY COMMON! When people experience anxiety attacks (panic attacks) they often feel that they are the only one, that they are going mad, that there is something terribly wrong with them, that they should be embarrassed, that they are weak etc etc.
The fact is that a huge percentage of people will experience an anxiety attack at least once in their lives.
The problem that occurs is what I call the "WHAT IF" experience.
It goes like this...
1.
You experience a panic attack because you are under some stress, either current or from the past or a mixture of the two 2.
It feels so awful, so terrifying, and embarrassing 3.
You think "WHAT IF" it happens again 4.
Those "WHAT IF" worries induce another anxiety attack 5.
It feels so awful, so terrifying, and embarrassing ...
and so a cycle of anxiety is formed.
The trick is to get to the root of what has caused you to feel so stressed in the first place.
CAUSES OF ANXIETY ATTACKS Think about your current situation.
How is your work, income, relationships, health etc? Are you still carry some pain from your childhood? A past relationship? Do you lack self confidence? There may be some external factor that is causing your anxiety; perhaps you are in a difficult and damaging relationship, or perhaps you are in the wrong job.
On the other hand there may be some traumatic incident which took place in your past which is the cause.
Very often anxiety is caused by both of these.
You may be in an unhelpful situation now, due to a lack of self esteem brought on by past issues.
Perhaps you keep getting into unhelpful situations because of the past and this just feeds your low self esteem.
In either case counselling can help to alleviate and manage anxiety.
A good counsellor will help you to look at past incidents, to express the pain and anger you feel and let go of all that hurt.
A good counsellor will also be able to help you to build your self esteem and help you to make changes in your current situation.
Counselling offers you a safe and confidential space to speak freely and to explore your experiences so that you can make sense of your feelings.
If you are experiencing anxiety attacks you may find counselling really helpful.
New Perspectives Counselling
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