Anxiety Disorders (Symptoms)

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Symptoms of Anxiety and Panic
Please note
Do not self diagnose. Anxiety Disorders can mimic a number of physical conditions and it is important that a medical assessment and diagnosis is made by your treating doctor or specialist. 

Once you have been diagnosed by your doctor as having panic and/or anxiety, understanding your symptoms is a vital component in the recovery process. If you don't understand how your symptoms happen, then you can remain caught up in your fears about them. 

A brief overview

The symptoms of panic attacks and anxiety can be many and varied. (For a full list of symptoms see the following page link below)

Everyone who experiences panic and anxiety, feels the effects of the the 'Fight' and Flight' response. The fight and flight response is a natural response to danger in humans and in animals. When the fight and flight response is activated, hormones are released through the body to enable us to either fight the dangerous situation or to run from it. 

The effects of the fight and flight response include an increase in our heart rate to pump blood faster to the brain, lungs and muscles. We may begin to breathe quickly to increase our oxygen levels, our muscle tense and we can begin to perspire.

Many people don't realise that the way they think when they have an anxiety disorder, turns on the 'fight and flight' response. Our bodies can't tell the difference between the thoughts, 'what if I have a panic attack, what if I make a fool of myself, why am I feeling like this, why is this happening to me, what if the doctor has made a mistake etc etc'.... and the thought :

'Here comes a truck at 100 kms an hour and it has no brakes. It is heading straight for me!' 

The way we think when we have an anxiety disorder, the 'what ifs' etc, keep turning on the fight and flight response and around and around we go.

Another group of symptoms include depersonalisation and/or derealisation. These are common symptoms of spontaneous panic attacks, and are part of a group of symptoms known as Dissociation. 

People with an anxiety disorder can also experience a number of different effects as a result of their disorder. These effects can include lack of concentration and extreme exhaustion. 

Recovery for all of us means understanding our symptoms and how they happen. This in turn helps us to learn to lose our various fears, and by doing so we 'turn off' the fight and flight response.

Symptoms

Panic attacks and/or anxiety may include

• Electric current thru body  
• Rush of energy thru body
• Tingling feeling thru body  
• Hot prickly feeling thru body   
• Intense heat thru body
• Wave of energy thru body  
• Ice cold moving thru body   '
• Ants crawling' sensation  

Dissociative symptoms

• Depersonalisation /Derealisation
•  Feeling detached from body  
• As if looking through a  mist  
• As if you are not real  
• As if surroundings not real   
•  Stationary objects appear to move   
• Sensitivity to light / sound   
• Dizziness   

 Fight and Flight

Heart

• Racing  / Pounding heart  
• Missed' heart beats

 Breathing symptoms  

• Breathing difficulties  
• Hyperventilation
• Tightening of the throat  
• Choking sensation

 Muscle Tension

• Chest pain  Headaches  
• Neck pain  
• Lower back pain  
• Aching jaw  
• Muscle pain  
• Sciatica  

 Digestive problems  

• Nausea and/or vomiting  
• Churning / burning stomach  
• Indigestion  

 Other Symptoms  

• Pins and needles  

  Other symptoms continued

• Excessive perspiration  
• Sweating hands   
• Giddiness / Light-headedness   
• Frequent need to urinate   
• Diarrhoea  
• Sleeping difficulties
•  Night sweats  
• Unexplained rashes   
• Weakness in left arm  

 Effects  

• Lack of concentration  
• Extreme exhaustion
• Loss of feelings and/or libido  
• Short term memory loss

 Major Fears  

• Fear of dying  
• Fear of having a heart attack  
• Fear of going insane  
• Fear of losing control  
• Fear of embarrassment  
• Fear of making a fool of self