Definition - Anxiety is a complex combination of the feeling of fear, apprehension and worry often accompanied by physical sensations such as palpitations, chest pain and/or shortness of breath. It may exist as a primary disorder or may be associated with other medical problems including other psychiatric disorders.

A chronically recurring case of anxiety that has a serious affect on your life may be clinically diagnosed as an anxiety disorder. The most common are Generalized anxiety disorder, Panic disorder, Social anxiety disorder, phobias, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Anxiety and Panic Attack

Anxiety and panic attack can occur at a moment's notice even when you have never experienced the symptoms before. Some people may find themselves in the midst of an attack as their very first indication that there is a problem. Sometimes the anxiety and panic attach reoccurs and other times it simply vanishes never to return.

The symptoms of these kinds of episodes are quite difficult to pinpoint. You may think that you are having a type of anxiety and panic attack when you are simply experiencing a great deal of stress. Stress can have profound ramifications on a person's body. The powerful state can lead to emotional and physical symptoms.

Physical Symptoms of Anxiety Attacks.

These emotional and physical symptoms often mimic the ones found in anxiety and panic attacks. You may find yourself short of breath. Some people complain that they feel as if they can't breathe when they are experiencing an anxiety and panic attack. The inability to breathe freely adds to the stress which leads to progressively greater symptoms in turn.

A common feeling among those who have experienced such episodes includes pains in the chest area. In fact, many people suffering an anxiety and panic attack often think that they are experiencing a heart attack. The common complaint is tightness and pain in the chest which leads to the obvious worry of heart failure.

Another common complaint shared by many people who have had an anxiety and panic attack is an overwhelming feeling of dread. Many of these individuals have the inescapable feeling that something horrible is going to happen. This occurrence is completely out of their control and it is very frightening.

The feeling of dread, chest pains and shortness of breath make this kind of episode very scary for anyone who experiences it. Anxiety and panic attack is quite terrifying for these individuals and the symptoms feed into the fear making the whole experience awful. The very symptoms can cause the attack to worsen.

Many people become so stressed during situations that mimic the ones that they were involved in during their last anxiety and panic attack that they throw themselves into a similar state, leading to another episode. For example, if someone has an episode in a crowded store, she may be more likely to have another anxiety and panic attack in a similar atmosphere.

Some people luckily never experience anxiety and panic attack. Others have a single episode during a time of great stress and other less fortunate individuals face these attacks on a weekly, even daily basis. Hypnosis and hypnotherapy are slowly becoming recognised therapies for curing people with panic attacks, check the net for some of the excellent packages available.

Article by J.D. Ericson an independent writer for Healthy Help Files on Mental Health Issues.