The mission of AnxietyPanic.com is to educate patients, families, caregivers and the community about anxiety and panic disorders in order to relieve suffering, instill hope, and improve lives.
Anxiety
Is a normal reaction to stress. It helps one deal with tense situations in the office, study harder for an exam, keep focused on an important speech. In general, it helps one cope. But when anxiety becomes an excessive, irrational dread of everyday situations, it has become a disabling anxiety disorder.
Anxiety can be accompanied by physical effects such as heart palpitations, nausea, chest pain, shortness of breath, stomach aches, or headaches. Physically, the body prepares to deal with what it perceives as a threat. Blood pressure and heart rate are increased, sweating is increased, blood flow to muscle groups increases and immune and digestive system functions are inhibited (the fight or flight response). External signs of anxiety may include pale skin, sweating, trembling and many others. Someone suffering from anxiety might also experience it as a sense of dread or panic.
Panic attacks
are sudden surges of overwhelming fear that that comes without warning and without any obvious reason. It is far more intense than having anxiety or the feeling of being 'stressed out' that most people experience. One out of every 75 people worldwide will experience panic attacks at one time in their lives.
People who have full-blown, repeated panic attacks can become very disabled by their condition and should seek treatment before they start to avoid places or situations where panic attacks have occurred. For example, if a panic attack happened in an elevator, someone with panic disorder may develop a fear of elevators that could affect the choice of a job or an apartment, and restrict where that person can seek medical attention or enjoy entertainment
Panic attacks are not dangerous, but they can be terrifying, largely because it feels 'crazy' and 'out of control.' Panic disorder is frightening because of the panic attacks associated with it, and also because it often leads to other complications such as phobias, depression, substance abuse, medical complications, even suicide.
The above information thankfully comes from the anxietypanicattack.com at the following link.
