Your mental health is important!
Your mental health needs a special care. It is important to acknowledge when you are not in top shape and to seek and accept support. Many people deal with Anxiety and/or Panic Attacks, but they don’t get a proper diagnosis and they don’t understand what is happening to them and how to control it.
What is Anxiety?
Anxiety is defined by a series of symptoms such as fear, worry, distress, heart palpitations, tightness in the throat, dry mouth, sweating, hot or cold flashes, dizziness and nausea. Different people have different symptoms and not all these might apply at the same time, or there might be others.
These feelings come in anticipation of a stressful situation or event. Many people who battle anxiety on a daily basis experience these even when they think about a stressful situation or when they have to do usual things. For example, someone who is not comfortable talking in public might experience anxiety just thinking about a presentation that they should have in a few months. Many other things can trigger these symptoms, such as phobias, pain, caffeine medications or chronic medical conditions.
One of the main differences between anxiety and panic attacks is that anxiety comes gradually; the symptoms appear one by one and they can last for a long period of time.
One can feel anxiety for a big part of the day.
“The sky was so blue I couldn’t look at it because it made me sad, swelling tears in my eyes and they dripped quietly on the floor as I got on with my day. I tried to keep my focus, ticked off the to-do list, did my chores. Packed orders, wrote emails, paid bills and rewrote stories, but the panic kept growing, exploding in my chest. Tears falling on the desk: tick tick tick, me not making a sound and some days I just don't know what to do. Where to go or who to see and I try to be gentle, soft and kind, but anxiety eats you up and I just want to be fine.” ― Charlotte Eriksson
What is Panic Attack?
A panic attack is defined by the sudden appearance of symptoms such as fear, the fear of death, chest pain and/or palpitations, tightness in the chest and difficult breathing, dry mouth, sweating, dizziness, nausea, stomach pain or hot flashes.
While anxiety is, most of the time, triggered by something or the anticipation of a situation, panic attacks can also appear without any apparent trigger. Even more than this, the hormones released by the brain during a panic attack put your body in the fight-or-flight
state, which means that the symptoms are much more intense and they tell your body that you are in immediate danger.
Unlike anxiety, a panic attack lasts only for a few minutes, and most of the symptoms disappear in 20-30 minutes.
There are people who have panic attacks only in specific situations and people who have multiple attacks on a daily basis; in this case, it is recommended to discuss with a specialist.
While both conditions are widely known and more common than most people think, we rarely talk about them. There is still a stigma against mental conditions and this is what keeps people from getting the help that they need.
What you need to know is that these conditions can affect anyone, and they are not a sign that you are weak or that something is wrong with you. In both cases, you can do something and you can have a normal life without long term effects.
The first step is to discuss with your loved ones. Although they might not understand at first, it is important to explain that the symptoms are not something that you can control and that you need their support.
Left untreated, these conditions can worsen over time and they can have negative effects on long term not only on your mental state, but also on every aspect of your personal and professional life.
Don’t allow fear to gain control over who you are. Seek support and put yourself as a priority!
