If you suffer from anxiety attacks, you know that it can manifest in different parts of the body. The reason this occurs is because our sympathetic nervous system responds to a stimulus. This stimulus causes our body to prepare to fight or run using our fight or flight response. Our bodies developed this response in order to protect itself.

Millions of years ago we lived in caves. There were many things in nature that could harm us. In addition, we had to hunt for food to survive. Sometimes the animals we hunted were hunting us for the same reason. When we came upon a giant mastodon we had a choice. Either we could try to take it down with a spear or run for our lives. Either way our body prepared itself.

This response is the same in anxiety attack symptoms. Our body, for whatever reason, feels that it must ready itself for an attack or escape. It does this through what is called the autonomic nervous system. This system is split into two parts: the sympathetic and the parasympathetic.

The sympathetic nervous system is what creates anxiety attack symptoms. It does this by stimulating the adrenal glands that are located in your kidneys. These glands release a substance into the bloodstream called adrenalin. This substance stimulates the heart. The heart beats faster to ensure that oxygen is brought to all the parts of the body. This also helps remove any toxins that need to be excreted. This need usually manifests in the strong desire to urinate or defecate when we become nervous.

The body also sends messages of where blood needs to go. An example is when blood is taken from the skin and sent to muscles so that they can be ready to run or fight. This increases their power and energy.

This natural response is great when it comes to being ready for a tiger attack, but can be miserable as a symptom of an anxiety attack. Because this symptom that deals with the heart, many people that experience anxiety attacks feel that this symptom is the precursor to a heart attack. One surefire way to determine if you have heart problems is to see a doctor. Having an anxiety attack does not mean you are having a heart attack. To compound the problem your body will also decrease the blood supply to the brain. This is not dangerous but it can make you feel light headed, dizzy and even have blurred vision.

Another anxiety attack symptom has to do with the respiratory system. People complain that when they are having an anxiety attack that they feel like they are suffocating. The natural response of the body during a time of crisis is to increase respirations. This brings more oxygen quicker into the body. You might think that slowing your breathing down and controlling your breathing may be the solution to the feeling that accelerated breathing can bring. This feeling is of being breathless and can make your throat feel like it is closing and your chest feels tight.

The contrary is true. If you try to slow your breathing, you are decreasing your body’s supply of oxygen. Your anxiety increases as your body steps up its response. Controlling your breathing only makes your anxiety attack symptoms worse.

There are other symptoms of anxiety attacks. Your eyes may be affected by changes in blood flow. Your pupils may dilate; you could see stars or have blurred vision. Another symptom of an anxiety attack is dry mouth which is the result of decreased salivation. As adrenalin hits your digestive system you can experience the symptoms of nausea, butterflies, constipation or diarrhea.

In your muscles you may feel a trembling or a tightness as your body is preparing to strike or run. All of these are symptoms of an anxiety attack, but they are the body’s natural response to an anxiety stimulus. When your body has completed its cycle of being ready and alert and when the anxiety has abated, you may feel sick, tired or weak. This is because your body has used up a lot of energy in getting ready to flee or fight.

It is in the area of the mind is where the real cause of an anxiety attack occurs. A symptom of an anxiety attack is that your mind becomes very alert and your senses acute. This is because you are scanning your environment for danger. This magnifies your perceptions. This includes the perceptions of what your body is doing such as your breathing and heart rate. Again this is a natural necessary process, but one that exacerbates an anxiety attack.

If, for instance, a trigger for an anxiety attack is a closed space, your mind will be looking for an exit. As you realize there is no easy exit your anxiety rises and feeds upon itself. It becomes worse because our mind is trying to process what it should do next, and without a solution becomes more alarmed.

The good news is that people can and do over come the symptoms of anxiety attacks. People have found a lot of success with a technique called the ‘One Move Technique’ which is derived from cognitive behavioural therapy and provides sufferers with an easy tool that they can use immediately and effectively.

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.