We all experience a sense of unease, anxiety when we are faced with a stressful situation, such as an interview; exam or if we are worried about an illness and this is totally normal. Anxiety is only a problem when it becomes excessive.

Sadly for a great number suffering from anxiety disorders they are severe, prolonged and interfere with everyday activities. Such anxieties include phobias such as agoraphobia and sudden unexpected panic and anxiety attacks.

Generalized anxiety disorder is when you get a sudden surge of fear although no danger exists, adrenalin pours in as your body prepares for action, but as no action follows and there is no way for this nervous energy to be discharged, which lead to physiological confusion, or what we know as anxiety attack symptoms.

Your heart races, your mouth is dry, dizziness, over breathing, clammy hands, a lump in the throat, and what feels like a tight band around your head.  These feelings build until clinging to anything that will support your shaking legs you fear you might burst a blood vessel or drop down dead any minute.

Apart from the obvious symptoms of the anxiety attack you may also experience other psychological symptoms such as tiredness, insomnia, feeling uneasy all the time, unable to concentrate and may even think that you are going mad.

It is always wise to visit a health practitioner as sometimes anxiety disorder symptoms can be linked to a physical illness like a thyroid disorder. It may be the symptom of another mental health problem such as alcohol dependence, depression or separation anxiety in which case counseling will be beneficial. It can also be caused by substances like caffeine, and ecstasy, or if you are withdrawing from long-term use of tranquillizers.

Your physician will be able to decide what anxiety treatment is necessary and talk over any anxiety medication side effects should he decide to prescribe any medicines.

When you are anxious you often don’t realize that you are breathing wrong and this can be one of the main cause of the feelings of anxiety. Learning to breath correctly can change a nervous wreck into a relaxed person.

To check your breathing stand up with one hand on your stomach and the other on your chest, breathe normally and note which hand is moving. If the hand on your chest is still and the lower hand is moving then you are breathing from the bottom of your lungs and using your diaphragm correctly.

If not you should place your hands together on top of your stomach with your two middle fingers touching, and then try to breathe them apart. Practice this daily until it becomes automatic, as it is no good to think about this when you are in the middle of an anxiety attack, but practicing before hand can lessen its effects and may prevent it from happening.

However there is an emergency measure if you have lost control of your breathing during an attack so keep a paper bag handy. This is not as silly as it sounds, as when you exhale into a paper bag and then breath in the same air, you correct the balance by re-breathing the carbon dioxide, which you have lost. This regulates your breathing and the panic will subside.