Anxiety Symptom: Anxiety Fears

Fears of Losing Control, Dying, or “Going Crazy”

During a panic attack you might think you were having a heart attack, or some other form of medical emergency. It may be a feeling of impending doom or “Death”.

The fact is that symptoms like palpitations, chest pains, difficulty breathing or sweating can be caused by anxiety. However, a person might think that it is not a panic attack when the symptoms seem so physical and real. Some feel a tidal wave of fear. As if it is a matter of life and death.

Since anxiety can seem like a major medical problem and/or symptom, it creates an additional worry for people to figure out the difference between a real medical emergency and an anxiety-panic attack. Even healthy people sometimes have a hard time knowing the difference between the two. When panic attacks first start in a person, they may visit the hospital emergency room suspecting a heart attack. Only after being reassured that there is nothing wrong with their heart, or brain, does it begin to help you realize that the problem is not physical, it's a panic attack.

Anxiety, anxiety attacks, or panic attacks, is simply tension or stress. Your actually “experiencing” the episode of an “actual” or “anticipated threat.”

“Fear of dying” and “fear of losing control or going crazy”, really only speaks about one's thought process. But most of the remaining symptoms are from the the way your body feels so darn terrible. The symptoms appear to be a major medical problem. In many cases, panic, or anxiety symptoms occur without a medical reason.

Fear comes out of:

• Your mood being changed by an "outside force."
• Your behavior being influenced by an "outside force."
• Physiological activity acted upon by an "outside force."

Physical Symptoms of Stress and Anxiety

Attacking Anxiety