Many, if not all of us have experienced some form of anxiety or panic in our lives.  This email is going to provide you with information about the signs and symptoms of anxiety/panic attacks, how you can deal with them and successfully find relief .

Panic vs. anxiety

• Panic
  • Symptoms are sudden and extremely intense
  • “out of the blue” peak within 10 minutes
  • Keyed up the rest of the day
• Anxiety
  • Intensifies over a period of time
  • Correlated with excessive worry about potential “danger”
  • Persistent and very long lasting
• Panic attacks = the actual attack and symptoms
• Panic disorder = fear of the panic attack

Anxiety

• Different than fear because a fearful person recognizes source of fear while an anxious person can’t identify threat
• Situational anxiety
  • Caused by specific situations or changing events
• Chronic anxiety
  • Can increase over time
  • GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder)
    • Persistent and excessive worry about a number of different things
    • Don’t know how to stop the worry cycle and feel it is beyond their control
    • https://www.adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/generalized-anxiety-disorder-gad
• There are different types of anxiety (social, GAD/free-floating, performance, separation, etc.) http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/situational+anxiety
• Signs – http://www.calmclinic.com/anxiety-types/situational-anxiety-disorder
  • GAD
    • edginess, tension headaches, excessive worry, feeling of impending doom
    • Whole body – fatigue, restlessness, or sweating, muscles tension/aches
    • Behavioral – hypervigilance, irritability
    • Cognitive – racing/unwanted thoughts
  • Panic
    • Heart palpitations, excessive sweating, trembling/shaking, difficulty breathing/feeling of choking, chest pain, nausea, feeling dizzy/lightheaded, feelings of unreality/being detached from oneself, fear of losing control, fear of dying, numbness, chills/hot flashes
    • Click the following link to understand the differences between anxiety and panic attacks https://www.verywell.com/anxiety-attacks-versus-panic-attacks-2584396

Ways to deal with the symptoms:

• Learn about anxiety

• Anxiety is normal and adaptive
• It becomes a problem when your body reacts to no real danger – be aware

• Relaxation
  • Calm breathing – slow gentle breaths in nose out mouth
  • Alternate nostril breathing – http://grape.mcklab.com/2013/05/how-often-do-you-breathe-through-your-nose/
  • Self-help strategies https://www.anxietybc.com/adults/general-self-help-strategies
  • Meditation – try one of these aps to get you started (for iPhone and android):
    • Calm
    • Headspace
    • MINDBODY Connect
    • Take A Break!
    • Buddhify
  • Walk…don’t run
    • Heart rate already elevated from stress, take a walk for movement but don’t elevate heart rate even more
    • 10 minute walk may be just as good as 45 minute workout (http://www.calmclinic.com/anxiety-types/situational-anxiety-disorder )
      • Can deliver several hours of relief similar to aspirin for headache
  • Eat healthy – Consume a balanced diet with veggies, fruits, healthy fats and proteins.  For more information about what a healthy diet looks like for you, please respond to this email or call me 734-717-1900
  • SLEEP – We all need 6-9 hours of sleep every night http://grape.mcklab.com/2015/11/get-a-great-nights-sleep-tonight/
  • Avoid alcohol during times of high anxiety or panic – Alcohol may temporarily relieve feelings of anxiety; however, long-term alcohol misuse and acute alcohol withdrawal can often increase anxiety levels. http://www.heretohelp.bc.ca/factsheet/depression-anxiety-alcohol-and-other-drugs
• ***Talk to a professional***
  • Call the EAP for assistance with finding a therapist or counselor– 1-877-595-5284 (once they give you a referral and you speak with a therapist, be sure to confirm the therapist is a Cigna In Network provider)
    • There are different types of therapy to choose from.  Below are two examples:
      • CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)
        • Learn to control thinking > maintain sense of control and self-confidence > learn coping strategies
        • Exposure therapy = exposure to feared object
        • https://www.adaa.org/finding-help/treatment/therapy
      • DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy)
        • Helps those suffering from mood disorders and those who need to change patterns of behavior
        • Helps people increase their emotional and cognitive regulation by learning about the triggers that lead to reactive states
  • Crisis hotline:
    • 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
  • Crisis text line:
    • Text NAMI to 741-741