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What is a Panic Attack (Anxiety Attack)?Source: Paul Douglass MIAH Acc. D.Hyp. Adv. - Anxiety therapist specialising in Pure Hypnoanalysis in London, England A panic attack, or an anxiety attack, is an extreme feeling of fear, anxiety and/or emotion which has little or no obvious cause. It can be described as having genuine feelings of fear and distress which are disproportionate to the actual threat to the person in the given situation. A panic attack (anxiety attack) can be extremely distressing for the sufferer, and can also be quite frustrating when the person knows that there is no obvious reason for the panic attack to be happening. The effects of the panic attack can vary from person to person, but the symptoms are often very similar to those that the person would feel in a truly threatening situation. The common symptoms of a panic attack (or anxiety attack) can include shaking, sweating, dizzyness and heart palpitations. For a more complete list of symptoms of a panic attack, see Symptoms of a Panic Attack. A panic attack (or anxiety attack) can start extremely quickly, with the whole panic / anxiety state being brought about by a seemingly everyday occurance or event. For example, a panic attack sufferer might be out shopping in a supermarket, only to find that they have a panic attack (anxiety attack) when they are in the queue for the checkout. A panic attack (anxiety attack) can be terrifying. If you’ve never had a panic attack (anxiety attack), think of what it would be like if you opened your front door only to find a lion standing there looking at you. In that situation, the body goes into its natural ‘fight, flight or freeze’ defense mechanism. As the name suggests, ‘fight’ means gearing the body up in order to fight the danger. So the body will (amongst other things) release adrenalin, the muscles with get ready to fight, the digestive system will slow down, and the body will mobilize its stored energy reserves. The ‘freeze’ response is another response to a real physical danger. This time, the person will become (sometimes literally) rigid with fear. Think back to the effects on the body of that lion looking at you… imagine if it were real… you would experience high levels of adrenalin, muscle activity (shaking and trembling), poor digestion, very loose bowels or bladder(!), feeling the need to escape, fear, muscle rigidity, and more. It would be perfectly understandable to feel all of those things. The reaction would be proportionate to the level of danger. But those are just the sorts of feelings that someone having a panic attack (or anxiety attack) will experience, except this time, there isn’t any tangible reason for those feelings panic or anxiety to be there. The level of fear, panic, anxiety, and the reaction to that fear, is disproportionate to the level of actual threat. When someone has a panic attack (anxiety attack) for the first time, they can often mistakenly believe that they are going to die, the panic is so strong. People having panic attacks, will often describe the experience as a fear that they are going to die, have a heart attack, faint, be sick, or ‘go mad’. Panic attack (anxiety attack) sufferers often present themselves to hospital, in the belief that something is physically wrong. A panic attack (anxiety attack) is different from other, prolonged forms of anxiety in that it often appears completely ‘out of the blue’, is very intense, and will have a finite length. For more information on the length of a typical panic attack, see How Long Does a Panic Attack Last? Panic attacks (anxiety attacks) are quite common (see How Common Are Panic Attacks), and can be understood (see What Causes Panic Attacks) and treated (see Hypnoanalysis as a treatment for panic attacks). Source: Paul Douglass MIAH Acc. D.Hyp. Adv. - Anxiety therapist specialising in Pure Hypnoanalysis in London, England Date Added: 24th of July 2007 Looking for help with a problem?... Do get in touch... We're here to help...If you're looking for help with an anxiety based problem, then we'll do what we can to help you. There are lots of different ways we may be able to help you to feel better... we'd love to meet you for a chat at one of our practices, or, if you're not near us, there's the LifeShaping Process which is a superb, web based process that you can use at home! If you're unsure where to start, or would just like to get in touch, just use the contact form below to tell us a bit about yourself, and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.
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Our family of websites... |
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Avon HypnotherapyAvon Hypnotherapy - Hypnosis, Hypnotherapy, Pure Hypnoanalysis, Changing Limiting Beliefs (CLB) in Cambridgeshire, London, Essex, Hertfordshire and online sessions (similar to online therapy, online counseling) Also with MP3 Hypnosis downloads and hypnosis CDs. Help for fears, phobias, anxiety, panic attacks, sexual problems (vaginismus, erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, impotence), emetophobia (the fear of being sick), commitment phobia, social anxiety (social phobia), self confidence, stopping smoking, weight loss |
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i-Talki-Talk - Looking for an online therapist, online therapy, online counseling (online counselling), or online Changing Limiting Beliefs (onine CLB)? |
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Paul DouglassPaul Douglass - Hypnosis, hypnotherapy, pure hypnoanalysis (Pure Hypnoanalyst and hypnotherapist) and Changing Limiting Beliefs (CLB) in Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Essex and North London |
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Denise DouglassDenise Douglass - Hypnosis, hypnotherapy, hypnotherapist, pure hypnoanalyst (pure hypnoanalysis) and Changing Limiting Beliefs (CLB) in North London, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Essex |
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Hertfordshire HypnotherapyHertfordshire Hypnotherapy - Hypnosis in Hertfordshire, hypnotherapy in Hertfordshire, pure hypnoanalysis in Hertfordshire and Changing Limiting Beliefs in Hertfordshire (CLB in Hertfordshire) - Convenient for Radlett, St Albans, Edgware, Watford, Hemel Hempstead, Potters Bar, Hatfield, Welwyn Garden City, Bishop's Stortford, Harlow, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Braintree, Epping, Loughton, Ware |
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Anxiety MattersAnxiety Matters - A website dedicated to anxiety, fears and phobias, panic attacks (anxiety attacks), commitment phobia, depression, sexual problems (vaginusmus, impotence, premature ejaculation and erectile dysfunction), and feeling better! |
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Stop Smoking HypnotherapyStop Smoking Hypnotherapy - Stop Smoking hypnotherapy in Cambridgeshire, Stop Smoking hypnotherapy in Hertfordshire, Stop Smoking hypnotherapy in North London and Stop Smoking hypnotherapy in Essex |
Cambridgeshire HypnotherapyCambridgeshire Hypnotherapy - Hypnosis in Cambridgeshire, hypnotherapy in Cambridgeshire, pure hypnoanalysis in Cambridgeshire and Changing Limiting Beliefs in Cambridgeshire (CLB in Cambridgeshire) - Convenient for Peterborough, Ely, Huntingdon, Cambridge and East Anglia |
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North London HypnotherapyNorth London Hypnotherapy - Hypnosis in North London, hypnotherapy in North London, Changing Limiting Beliefs in North London (CLB in North London) - Convenient for North London, St Albans, Watford, Hemel Hempstead, Potters Bar, Hatfield, Welwyn Garden City, Hertford, Stevenage |
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Essex HypnotherapyEssex Hypnotherapy - Hypnosis in Essex, Hypnotherapy in Essex, pure hypnoanalysis in Essex and Changing Limiting Beliefs in Essex (CLB in Essex) - Convenient for Bishop's Stortford, Harlow, Stansted, Saffron Walden, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Braintree, Great Dunmow, Epping, Loughton, Ware |
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