5 Bad Effects of an Anxiety Attack
Are you one of many people who knows a friend, an acquaintance or even a loved one who regularly experiences panic attacks? Chances are you may not know what to do and would feel helpless to stop it. A panic attack, also known as an anxiety attack, can truly take a toll on one’s system, and can be harmful to one’s health in a variety of ways. Generally, it occurs when someone feels a lot of nervousness, fear, worry and apprehension. There are cases of mild anxiety experienced, and these would simply just go away after a certain period of time, but when someone experiences severe anxiety for an extended period of time, it can truly contribute to the deterioration of the human body. There are several effects caused by a panic attack, some of which we are going to discuss below:
Short term anxiety can bring about shortness of breath, a rapid heartbeat rate as well as cold and sweaty palms. When one feels anxious, especially when it comes to walking down a dark alley at night, or even just doing mundane tasks with the feeling of being alone, the heart rate increases, which would then lead to either some aggression on the victim’s part, or a sense of escaping the situation.
Long term anxiety, however, can be rather detrimental to bodily functions. It can bring about migraines, some degree of difficulty in swallowing and even constriction in the blood vessels, which would then cause a lot of body pains, including those felt in the digestive system.
Psychologically speaking, one can become rather sleepy. When someone feels anxious about something, the thought of a specific situation which causes much worry can last in the mind, thus causing the victim of the condition to lose sleep or experience rather awful nightmares. This would lead to a whole lot of aggression and an easily irritable nature.
One may also experience a lot of confusion and difficulty in concentrating for long periods of time. Due to crowded thoughts on the mind, even irrational fears can be brought up, thus leading to agitation of the extreme sense.
An anxiety attack can also cause depression. This proves to be the most dangerous mental effect of all, as someone who feels helpless may harbor feelings of uselessness which may cause the person to avoid any attempts of communication with other people or, worse, can even lead to suicide attempts.