Panic Away can help you understand and cure panic

Anxiety
Imagine that you are driving along, and suddenly you start feeling kind of weird. Your muscles tense up. Your heart starts beating fast and you feel a little nauseous. You start sweating profusely. Was the chicken salad that you had for lunch bad? The chances are good that you are experiencing an anxiety attack.

Anxiety is more common that you may realize. You may think that only people who have genuine worries or problems suffer from anxiety, but this is not the case. In fact, anxiety attacks can occur in people who do not have any obvious problems, although anxiety is commonly caused by stress. We simply are dealing with more stress than our minds — and therefore our bodies — can handle.

The stress that you are experiencing doesn’t even have to be “great” for an anxiety attack to occur. It could be that you’ve had a moderate amount of stress for a very long period of time, culminating in an anxiety attack. Think of it as stress overload, even though it isn’t great amounts of stress all at one time.

Again, anxiety is quite common, and today it is more easily recognized by professionals. Anxiety is suffered by most people at one point in their life, but it becomes a serious problem when it is interfering with your day-to-day life, when it causes health problems, and when it presents dangerous situations — such as having a panic attack while driving. Anxiety is not a phobia; however, numerous phobias can cause an anxiety attack.

Numerous treatments are available for serious anxiety. Treatments may include medication, relaxation techniques, and counseling. Depending on the cause of the anxiety, long-term treatment may be needed. However, if the situation causing the anxiety is short term, short-term treatment will do, if treatment is needed at all.

Depression
It is perfectly normal to feel a little blue or down from time to time. However, feeling down or blue for long periods of time, lasting more than two weeks, is a serious problem. When this happens, full-blown clinical depression has set in, and treatment is needed.

Depression is marked by feeling down, fatigue, unexplained aches and pains, excessive sleeping or insomnia, feeling overwhelmed, feelings of hopelessness, a marked change in appetite, loss of energy, headaches, a diminished interest in things previously enjoyed, difficulty focusing or concentrating, and more.

Depression can be very mild and very severe. Depression can lead to suicide — even in a person who feels that suicide is wrong. Some people believe that depression occurs only when there is a “visible” reason for it, but this is not the case. Depression can even occur due to a chemical imbalance in the brain. The causes of depression are numerous.

Again, feeling blue or down from time to time is normal. It is when those feelings progress or are prolonged that a real problem exists. This type of depression does require treatment. Too often people think that they will “get over it,” that they don’t need treatment or that treatment will not benefit them. Some people don’t seek treatment because they are embarrassed or ashamed. They may also fear medication that is used in the treatment of depression.

While medication is used to treat depression, there are other ways in which it is treated as well. Counseling, without medication, has helped millions of people. Sometimes, for milder cases of clinical depression, simply resolving a problem or talking to a trusted friend helps.

If you or someone you know is experiencing depression, you should definitely seek help. Help should be sought when depression lasts more than two weeks, when it is accompanied by uncontrollable crying, or when it is interfering in your day-to-day life, preventing you from participating in your usual activities.

All material provided in these articles is not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult your physician if you are experiencing any of these conditions or symptoms.