There are many opinions and theries concerning anxiety and panic .
Some believe panic attacks are caused by a person's inability.
to live the life they dream of, while others believe they are caused by .
deep rooted fear based memories that we don't want to deal with. There.
are as many opinions as there are "experts". I believe the true experts.
are the people who experience this dread called panic attacks.
.
Everyone experiences some form of anxiety in their life, however, not.
everyone experiences this intense feeling of a life threating anxiety .
called panic attacks. In the Oxford Dictionary of Psychology, panic .
attacks are described as a period during which there is a sudden onset.
of intense terror, fear, or apprehension, accompanied by signs and .
symptoms such as a feeling of impending doom, a fear of going insane,.
shortness of breath, a choking sensation, increased heart rate and .
palpitations, chest pain or discomfort, dizziness, trembling, sweating,.
and nauseas. This description is right on target because it includes most.
if not all the symptoms that people have described to their doctors over .
the years. I chose this topic because I have first hand experience of .
panic attacks which are for the most part under control. I have also had.
family and friends that have suffered with them for years, so I can .
vouch for the Oxford definition.
Robert Gerzon, author of " Finding Serenity in the age of anxiety".
claims that we all should be anxious because it is a good thing. Gerzon .
feels that the problem is not anxiety, but that we're just not anxious .
about the right things. For example, we are anxious about finding a .
parking space but not that anxious about finding solutions for .
social injustice. This is among the more radical viewpoints. A more .
mainstream viewpoint is that of Joseph LeDoux. In his book " The .
Emotional Brain" LeDoux calls anxiety a " brooding fear of what .
might happen", he also relates panic attacks to other disorders such .
