Physical Symptoms Of Anxiety Attacks

Stress, fear, tension, changes in the surroundings, and changes in lifestyle can cause a person to experience display of anxiety attack. And for once in a person's life, he or she surely becomes a victim of this attack. This is because the body has a natural tendency to react what it perceives (be it a situation that is so different from what he is accustomed to or not). However, there are cases that these experiences can lead to a more severe mental condition.

Anxiety in the popular use may be some sort of fear or apprehension. But in medical treatment, anxiety is a serious problem that must be given full attention immediately; and diagnosing anxiety through physical symptoms is one step to treat it.

There are several physical symptoms that can appear to a person having anxiety attack. But one would not be the determining factor.

At least four of the following symptoms should be present in order to "presume" (not conclude) that the person has anxiety attack. (Arriving on the conclusion that anxiety attack is the cause of these symptoms is wrong since there are other criteria that need to be examined.)

Physical Symptoms of anxiety attack:

• Perspiration or Sweating
• Palpitations or fast and/or hard heart beating or pounding
• Stomach Pain or Abdominal Pain
• Cold or Hot Flashes
• Shaking or Trembling
• Difficulty in swallowing
• Chest pain
• Nausea and Vomiting
• Lightheadedness
• Faintness
• Dizziness
• Periods of breathlessness
• Shortness of breath
• Difficulty in breathing

But then, with all these symptoms present to a person, it is still very difficult to assess (for both the patient and the doctor) whether or not the person really has anxiety attack. The result then would be misdiagnosis since physical symptoms of anxiety attack can be symptoms of other physical illnesses.

The risk of having this kind of situation can be arriving on 3 possible diagnoses.

• All the physical symptoms associated with panic are caused by one psychological disorder. Having this kind of diagnosis, presuming that it is correct, the physical problem can be removed through direct treatment.

• All the physical symptoms associated with panic have no physical basis at all. This leads to mistreatment that may cause the patient to experience reoccurring attacks. 

• All the physical symptoms associated with panic are caused by minor physical problems. Since physical pains can be caused by identifiable physical problem, the treatment is concentrated on the part that is causing the pain. The threat here is that once the psychological illness is not treated, the minor physical problems will evolve into a major one.

A thorough and comprehensive examination is required to determine if the patient is really suffering for anxiety attack. Both the doctor and the patient should assume important roles to arrive at a correct conclusion. The role of the doctor here is to determine if the physical symptoms are caused by any physical problem. The role of the patient on the other hand is to give a complete history when and how intense the physical symptoms are.

It is also important to put away the thought that the pain will reoccur since fear can trigger panic attack. In other words, the happier you become, the lesser the threat of panic attack. And therefore, controlling your fear is one importing thing you should master.