Attacks of anxiety can be distressing when you’re not expecting them. Nervousness sets in, because you don’t know what to expect, especially, how long will it last? My longest attack was about ten minutes long. Not long compared to some people. I’ve had so many of them that I’ve learned how to cut them off at the past.
Since you can’t breathe, focus on taking slow deliberate breaths to slow down the “fight or flight” response. You need to calm yourself before you feel like you might pass out (had that happened to me).
What does anxious mean?
“Anxious” refers to a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an uncertain outcome. It can also describe a strong desire or eagerness to do something, often mixed with uneasiness. For example:
- Feeling anxious before a big test (nervous or worried).
- Being anxious to hear good news (eager or excited, but with some tension).
It can describe both a temporary emotion and, in some cases, a more persistent state, like anxiety disorders.
Warning Signs of Anxiety
Hyperventilation
Hyperventilation is a condition where you breathe faster or deeper than your body needs, leading to an imbalance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in your blood. This leaves you feeling like you can’t breathe.
Just to warn you, beware if you ever have a stress test done, there’s something you should know. I remember while I was having a stress test on my heart, the nurse put something into my IV and I couldn’t breathe for a few seconds. It was worse than having attacks of anxiety.
Rapid Heartbeat
Whatever has scared you (or not scared you) has caused your heart to race.One of the things adrenaline does is increase your heart rate, helping pump more blood to your muscles and vital organs. This gives you the energy and oxygen you need to handle a perceived threat. While this is super helpful in real danger, it can feel overwhelming during anxiety or panic attacks when there’s no real threat.
Chest Tightness
When you have chest tightness, you feel like you’re having a heart attack. In the beginning of my journey, I can’t tell you how many times I ended up in the ER. After awhile, I gave up on that notion.
Attacks of anxiety can make the chest feel tight. This attack is caused by a combination of physical and psychological factors triggered by the body’s “fight or flight” response. Chest tightness during an anxiety attack is caused by a combination of physical and psychological factors triggered by the body’s “fight or flight” response. Here are several reasons why it happens:
Muscle Tension: Anxiety causes your body to tense up, including the muscles in your chest, which can create a feeling of tightness or pressure.
Perception of Threat: Anxiety heightens your awareness of bodily sensations, making normal chest sensations feel more intense or alarming.
Sweating
When your brain perceives a threat (even if it’s not real), it activates your sympathetic nervous system, which prepares your body to deal with danger. Here’s why sweating happens:
Heightened Awareness: Anxiety makes you hyper-aware of your body, so you may notice sweating more than usual, even if it’s mild.
Overwhelming dread
Cooling Mechanism: Your body anticipates physical action (like running or fighting), so it starts sweating to cool you down in advance.
Adrenaline Surge: Anxiety triggers the release of adrenaline, which stimulates sweat glands, especially in areas like your palms, face, and underarms.
Worry and Anxiety
So, what’s the difference between worry and anxiety? We all worry from time to time. Anxiety before a speaking engagement is normal. But when you start to worry about the anxiety, it’s time to revaluate yourself. When the anxiety starts to consume your whole life, you need to question where your life is headed.
Anxiousness vs anxiety is the same situation. Feeling anxious can show up in lots of ways, like feeling restless or jittery, struggling to focus, or even having tense muscles. These feelings are usually temporary and often pop up in certain situations—like when you’re about to give a big presentation at work or waiting for an important phone call.
On the flip side, anxiety is a more serious mental health condition that can really affect daily life. It could lead to constant worrying about everyday things, avoiding certain situations, or even physical symptoms like a racing heart or trouble breathing.
Anxiety Level
Anxiety level refers to the intensity or degree of anxiety a person is experiencing at a given time. It can range from mild to severe and is often categorized into different levels to help understand and manage the symptoms. Here’s a breakdown:
- Mild Anxiety:
- Feels like slight nervousness or unease.
- Can actually be helpful, improving focus and motivation (e.g., before a test or presentation).
- Moderate Anxiety:
- More noticeable physical symptoms like a faster heartbeat, sweating, or restlessness.
- Can make it harder to concentrate or stay calm but is still manageable.
- Severe Anxiety:
- Overwhelming feelings of fear or dread.
- Intense physical symptoms like chest tightness, rapid breathing, or trembling.
- May interfere with daily activities and decision-making.
- Panic Level:
- Extreme anxiety, often associated with panic attacks.
- include losing. Symptoms include a sense of losing control, difficulty breathing, and feeling like something catastrophic is happening.
Attacks of anxiety levels can fluctuate depending on the situation, triggers, and individual coping mechanisms. It is common to feel anxious in certain situations, such as before a big test or job interview. However, anxiety can be overwhelming for some individuals and interfere with daily life.
Different Types of Anxiety
There are different types of anxiety disorders that people may struggle with, including generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and specific phobias. Each type has its own symptoms and triggers.
Here are the main types of anxiety disorders:
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
- Persistent and excessive worry about everyday things like work, health, or finances.
- Symptoms include restlessness, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and muscle tension.
- Panic Disorder
- Characterized by sudden and intense episodes of fear, known as panic attacks.
- Symptoms include heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, and a feeling of losing control.
- Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia)
- Intense fear of social situations or being judged by others.
- Symptoms include avoiding social interactions, sweating, trembling, and difficulty speaking in public.
- Specific Phobias
- Extreme fear of a specific object, situation, or activity (e.g., heights, spiders, flying).
- Symptoms include avoidance behavior and intense fear when exposed to the phobia trigger.
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Involves recurring, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors (compulsions) to reduce anxiety.
- Examples include excessive handwashing, checking locks, or counting rituals.
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Develops after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event.
- Symptoms include flashbacks, nightmares, hypervigilance, and emotional numbness.
- Separation Anxiety Disorder
- Excessive fear or anxiety about being separated from loved ones.
- Common in children but can also affect adults.
- Health Anxiety (Hypochondria)
- Preoccupation with having or developing a serious illness.
- Symptoms include frequent doctor visits and constant self-checking for symptoms.
- Agoraphobia
- Fear of being in situations where escape might be difficult or help unavailable, such as crowded places or open spaces.
- Often linked to panic disorder.
- Selective Mutism
- A rare condition where a person (often a child) is unable to speak in certain social situations despite being able to speak in others.
How Long Can Anxiety Last?
The duration of attacks of anxiety can vary widely depending on the type of anxiety, its triggers, and how it’s managed. Here’s a breakdown:
- Acute Anxiety:
- This is short-term anxiety triggered by a specific event or situation (e.g., a job interview or public speaking).
- It typically lasts until the situation is resolved, often a few minutes to a few hours.
- Panic Attacks:
- These are intense bursts of anxiety that peak within 10 minutes and usually subside within 30 minutes to an hour.
- However, the aftereffects (like fatigue or worry about another attack) can linger longer.
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD):
- This involves chronic, excessive worry about various aspects of life.
- Symptoms can persist for months or even years if untreated, though they may fluctuate in intensity.
- Situational Anxiety:
- Anxiety tied to specific circumstances (e.g., grief, trauma, or a stressful life event) can last days, weeks, or months, depending on how the situation evolves.
- Chronic Anxiety:
- For some, anxiety can become a long-term condition, especially if it’s linked to underlying mental health disorders or not effectively managed.
Treatments For Attacks of Anxiety
Fake it Until You Make It
I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with this phrase, but honestly… I really do believe you have to be it to become it. The way you show up every day, even in the smallest ways, can make such a big difference!
Want to feel less anxious? Try letting go of the label of “someone with anxiety.” Think about it—how would a non-anxious person act? How would they handle situation X? What might their day look like? Asking myself these questions made a big difference and helped me become who I am today.
You’ve got to be it to become it! The way you show up every day, even in the little things, can make such a huge difference.
Journaling quickly became my go-to for this step. I started scripting, and one exercise that really helped was answering this question once a day: “What does a perfect day in my life feel like?” It was such a fun and inspiring way to reflect!
Pro Tip: I did not include crippling anxiety in my perfect day-to-day-life.
For example, I wrote, “I woke up feeling refreshed and ready for the day. My commute to work was relaxed, and I felt excited about what was ahead. During my shift, I was in a great mood—social and full of energy. When I got home, I still had enough energy to fit in a workout and even go for a walk.”
Did I feel this way right after one journal entry? No, definitely not. Our bodies and nervous systems are pretty complex and need time to adjust. But this exercise helped me picture what life without anxiety could look like—and that was the whole point!
After a while, it really did transform into my reality!
Calm Your Thoughts
Changing your thoughts can be difficult at first, but like anything, it can become a habit after doing it consistently. Here are some quick tips:
- Stop judging yourself. No more “I should be feeling BLANK, instead of this!” Just allow yourself to feel what you’re feeling whether you want to feel that way or not.
- Stop worrying and being overly concerned about the future. Focus on the present moment. What can you choose to focus on right this second and nothing else?
- Accept your past for what it is. You can’t change it. Keep your eyes looking toward the better life you’re creating for yourself.
- Breathe deep into the knowing that your future will work out the way it’s supposed to. Things are unfolding perfectly. Trust.
The less you dwell on painful experiences or tough situations you’re going through, the less anxiety you’ll feel. It’s not about ignoring the challenges in your life (that’s what therapy is for), but about making a choice to find peace, even when things are hard.
Make a Big Change if You Can
Start over. Give yourself a fresh start.
It wasn’t the easiest thing to do and came with its sacrifices, but I moved to a new city and started a new job. I know that’s not something everyone can do, though.
Making a big change could be as simple as painting your walls a fresh color, rearranging your furniture, or even getting a new haircut. There’s just something about shaking up your surroundings that can help shift your mindset too. We’ll dive into that more soon!
You can make new friends, go to a new grocery store, and find new places to hang out. There are ways to make your life feel new.
Sum It All Up
Attacks of anxiety feel like they’ve lasted hours rather than minutes. Anxiousness is OK, but anxiety that begins to consume your life is not. For me, I remember how the anxiety started and when it took over my life. I regained control of my life, but it was a hard battle.
I wasn’t on any meds for it for the longest time. The anxiety attacks started to affect me at work, so I was quietly let go. The thing that got me was the manager of the place was going through the same thing, so she knew what I was facing. But the owner wanted to get rid of me.
People don’t understand attacks of anxiety, because they don’t want to. They would rather be judgemental than try to understand it. People think in terms of money, rather than in helping. So, if you’re in this predicament, I feel for you. Peace and always love. Until next time…
Articles About Attacks of Anxiety
How to recognize an anxiety attack
What Is an Anxiety Attack and How Do You Stop One?
Do You Know the Difference Between Panic and Anxiety?
Have a Good One,
Cindee Murphy
“One Voice Going A Round Or Two With Anxiety”
“Anxiety might roar like a storm, but within you is the calm that holds the power to weather it.”
“Panic attacks don’t define you. How you rise after them does.”
“When anxiety whispers lies, speak back with kindness and remind yourself of the truths of your strength.”
“You’re not alone in this battle. There’s bravery in reaching out and finding your tribe of support.”
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