Blog

Post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is a response that can develop after a person lives through a life threatening or other harrowing situation. It is commonly seen in veterans, car crash survivors, survivors of natural disasters, and those who have lived through abuse. PTSD can cause anxiety symptoms, panic attacks, and cause survivors to feel like they are reliving past experiences. But not everyone who goes through a life threatening situation will develop PTSD afterward. People may also develop PTSD in some cases but not in others. Scientists are continually studying the relation between traumatic experiences and who develops…

For a long time, alcohol has been called “liquid courage.” Some people like it as a go to solution when faced with a situation that triggers nerves or fear, and many people do find, at least initially, that taking a drink of alcohol after a stressful day or drinking before a social situation can reduce some feelings of anxiety. Unfortunately, alcohol is far from the effective anxiety treatment that it may initially seem when you begin drinking. Regular alcohol consumption can in fact make your anxiety worse. This is how the science behind anxiety can affect you and why it…

A panic attack is a frightening emotional and physiological event. During the attack, a person is overwhelmed with a sense of fear and experiences an activation of the fight or flight reaction, including rapid heartbeat, difficulty breathing, and muscle tension in such a way that a panic attack can even feel like a heart attack. When you have panic disorder, you may experience these panic attacks frequently. In the moments where you feel fine, you could still be left dreading the next panic attack or on edge waiting for one of your triggers, until it feels like panic disorder has…

Worry and stress are natural responses to difficult or dangerous situations. But when panic or anxiety are triggered without an immediate cause, you can find yourself experiencing a panic attack or anxiety attack. These are both mental and physical responses that are intense enough that they can interrupt daily situations. Although there are some similarities between panic and anxiety attacks, they are not the same. Being able to tell which one you are experiencing can help you determine the best course of action to manage your symptoms. Panic Attacks vs. Anxiety Attacks – How to Manage Them An anxiety attack…