The Reasons Behind Anxiety Attacks
Anxiety is incredibly common, with up to 5% of the entire population experiencing it at any one time. Statistics also show that women are prone to anxiety than men. In this report, we look at anxiety in close detail; outlining what it is, what it is caused by and what are the results of this mental disorder.
Anxiety can be caused by a variety of different factors. Whether part of a more significant mental disorder or a problem in itself, typical causes are:
- A family’s genetic buildup. Relatives of people who suffer from anxiety, phobias, depression, or panic attacks are more likely to suffer from some form of mental condition as well. It’s not unusual to pass anxiety from parent to child.
- Stress and serious problems in life. It’s normal to feel anxious whenever we’re faced with some major challenges in life. But this usually isn’t classified as a medical condition, especially if the anxiety goes away after the stress is relieved or when the problems are resolved.
- Anxiety is also a side-effect of PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder. Some individuals can be profoundly affected by unfortunate events in life, such as the death of a loved one or an accident that results in disability. Such events can bring about PTSD, and it always occurs from an experience and never naturally.
- Drugs and medications are also leading causes of panic attacks. If you have been taking a certain drug and you suddenly stop, then withdrawal symptoms can also make you anxious over many things.
Anxiety can lead to other different problems in an individuals physical and psychological health. It’s not unusual for a sufferer to also suffer from breathing and sleeping problems, headaches, and nausea.
One of the more severe symptoms of anxiety include panic attacks. Such attacks can look like a heart attack, since sufferers of panic attacks often exhibit difficulty breathing. These attacks can last as short as a few seconds, or much longer. To treat such mental conditions, it’s important to know their causes and effects.
Emotional anxiety plays a big role in the disorder. The effects that anxiety has on people emotionally can be just as severe as the ones that are seen physically and mentally. Depressive thoughts, an inability to cope, obsessive compulsive disorder and a lack of enthusiasm for hobbies are all common side effects.
Unfortunately, some anxiety sufferers also seem to distance themselves from their family and friends, which makes them feel even more isolated. Sometimes, the sufferer’s close ones do not understand what the sufferer is going through. This can make the situation worse because the family and friends of the sufferer are not there when their family need them most. Very often this behaviour pattern is mis-diagnosed as people anxiety, which is also known as social phobia.
Anxiety can begin a vicious cycle of physical and emotional illness. If you believe that you are suffering from anxiety or if somebody close to you is, it may be advised that you seek the professional help of a doctor.