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Basic Information about Anxiety Attacks
Anxiety attacks can range from mild to debilitating and demonstrate themselves in numerous symptoms. For the most part, an anxiety or panic attack brings on an intense feeling of anxiety of worry that causes feelings of fear, physical illness, and discomfort. In some cases there is an event that triggers such an attack, but it is also possible that the trigger is unknown. The episodes can be random and come on instantly.
During the attack the body produces extra hormones to prepare the body for its "fight or flight" action, which is what causes the symptoms to become more profound. A person who suffers from anxiety attacks will tell you that he/she feels like they are having a heart attack or cannot breathe, thus giving them the feeling that they are going to die. It may cause them to try to flee from the area in order to try to escape the feelings of anxiety or panic.
The most common symptoms of such an attack include increased blood pressure and heart rate, which often causes flushing of the skin, chest tightness or pain, profuse sweating, a feeling that you are sick to your stomach or that you may throw up, and a feeling of lightheadedness. In the majority of sufferers, the feeling of chest tightness precipitates an attack, which leads them to think they need to call emergency services.
There are different triggers and causes of anxiety attacks. Heredity plays a part in this and studies have found that panic attacks tend to run in families. At the same time, people with no family history also develop such attacks, so the cause cannot be based on heredity alone. Many panic attacks have been attributed to deficiencies in the diet, such as a deficiency in Vitamin B. Phobias result from anxiety attacks when a person is exposed to a real threat over a long period of time.
The use of caffeine can lead to such attacks, especially during the withdrawal process. Doctors have also found that thyroid problems and anemia lead to feelings of anxiety that can develop into full blown attacks the longer the condition goes undiagnosed and untreated. There are many people who perceive a threat in their everyday life and can actually talk themselves into an anxiety attack when they worry excessively about what might happen if an event occurs.
Traumatic experiences in one’s life can also be a trigger for such an attack. Although those who suffer from anxiety attacks feel as if they are going to die, these feelings are the body’s ways of preventing this from happening. When a trigger occurs, the body starts producing extra adrenaline to prepare it for strenuous physical activity, such as running, which may be needed to ward off the threat. This, in turn, increases the heart rate and breathing rate and increases the amount of perspiration.
When no physical activity occurs or is needed, then these increases in the body cause hyperventilation as the levels of carbon dioxide increase in the heart and lungs. This increase in carbon dioxide is the cause of the feelings of dizziness, nausea, and sensations of numbness in the limbs. Breathing into a paper bag can help alleviate anxiety attacks, although many experts say it can be dangerous. Taking deep breaths from the abdomen helps to slow down the heart rate and bring the blood pressure back to acceptable levels, thus reducing the intensity of the attack.
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Different Types of Breathing Exercises
Breathing exercises become essential as you get older because age does reduce the level of oxygen in your lungs. When you only take shallow breaths, as you do in normal breathing, you will eventually notice stiffness in your rib cage as the muscles surrounding the diaphragm start to lose their elasticity. This causes stale air to build up in your lungs that is composed mostly of carbon dioxide.
Rapid shallow breathing also leads to heart disease after a number of years or excessive feelings of tiredness. Breathing exercises to cleanse the stale air in your lungs should be practiced on a daily basis. You do not need to set aside a long period of time for this – five to ten minutes is sufficient. You can do the exercises when you wake in the morning or just before you go to sleep at night.
In fact, if you engage in these exercises when you go to bed, they will help your muscles relax making it a lot easier for you to fall asleep and get a good night’s rest. You should lie flat on your back to do breathing exercises. Make yourself as comfortable as possible. If you need to, place some small pillows under your neck and knees so that you spine is straight. As you breathe naturally, take notice of the rise and fall of your chest and abdomen.
Lay your hands on your stomach, just below your rib cage where your diaphragm is located. The lungs do extend down to this point. Take in a deep breath until you feel your lungs reaching down to this point. A helpful tip to let you know when the lungs extend to this point is to place your hands so that the tips of your middle fingers are slightly touching each other.
As you take a deep breath and your lungs expand, your fingers will start to move apart. In true breathing exercises let the muscles of your stomach relax and feel it filling with air. Once you feel as if your belly is full, let the air expand your chest and lungs. As you let the breath out slowly, you will feel your stomach start to pull inwards forcing out the last bit of air.
You can also do humming breathing exercises in which you make a humming sound as you exhale slowly. By concentrating on your breathing and humming each time you exhale, you will experience a feeling of relaxation in all parts of your body. Chinese breathing exercises involve taking short breaths. To do this exercise you take three short breaths in through your nose without exhaling between them.
For the first inhalation, lift your arms out from your sides so that they stand out in front of you at shoulder height. On the third inhalation, open your arms out to your sides, still keeping them at the same height. When you take in the third inhalation, lift your arms up over your head. Then as you exhale, you bring your arms back to the starting position by your sides.
You should not take more than twelve breaths in this exercise because it can cause you to feel lightheaded. One caution about this form of breathing exercise is that you should only engage in this exercise when you are in a sitting position. It could cause you to hyperventilate if you are standing or lying down.
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Fat-Cell Protein May Reduce Diabetes Risk
By Serena Gordon
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, July 7 (HealthDay News) -- Higher levels of a protein created by fat cells are associated with a lessened risk of type 2 diabetes.
The protein, adiponectin, appears to have anti-inflammatory and insulin-sensitizing capabilities, according to a study published in the July 8 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
"Our finding was that adiponectin is associated with a low risk of type 2 diabetes, and the effect is quite pronounced," said the study's senior author, Rob M. van Dam, an assistant professor at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.
Van Dam said that he and his colleagues believe that adiponectin isn't just a marker for a decreased risk of type 2 diabetes, but that the protein actually exerts a causal effect on the development of the disease. He said that in animal studies, when adiponectin is injected, metabolic differences occur. And, according to the study, adiponectin acts as a hormone with both anti-inflammatory and insulin-sensitizing properties.
That's important because in type 2 diabetes, the body often becomes resistant to insulin and doesn't use it effectively. Almost 24 million Americans have diabetes, and about 6 million of them don't yet know it, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Untreated, the disease can lead to serious complications, including kidney failure, amputations and blindness.
What this study doesn't mean, however, is that you should add fat to increase your adiponectin levels. Fat tissue also produces other signaling molecules, according to van Dam, and most of these are destructive, not helpful. Additionally, although adiponectin is produced by fat tissue, the heavier you get, the less adiponectin you're likely to produce.
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