Karen’s Free Health and Fitness Tips

Anxiety and dizziness: most folks would never link them. And I was no different until I suffered an agonizing anxiety attack (panic attack). I should have seen the warning signs. For several weeks before, I had been having short dizzy spells, maybe a couple a day. Not like the dizziness where your head spins like a top. Mine was more subtle, like standing up too quickly, a bit lightheadedness, you know what I mean? At first I didn’t think much of it, maybe a bit of stress, I certainly didn’t think of anxiety. So I let it go. (Warning: don’t leave things like me, always consult your doctor as soon as possible).

Looking back, there were other signs apart from dizziness that, had I known then what I know now, would have made me attend my doctor. But I knew nothing of anxiety and anxiety attacks, so I left things too late. The result was that I suffered a really frightening anxiety attack while driving. I won’t go into the whole story here, but at the time I really thought I was dying, and subsequently diagnosed with anxiety.

Some symptoms of anxiety — and some I had — are things like dizziness, headaches, lightheadedness, palpitations, hyperventilation, constant worrying about even little things, fatigue, etc. I just thought I was a little stressed, nothing more. (Note: remember that these can also be signs of other conditions, so always consult your doctor for a professional diagnosis).

But those were nothing compared to the symptoms I suffered during my anxiety attack; tight chest and throat, racing/pounding heart, tingling fingers, nausea, difficulty breathing, as well as dizziness and more. I honestly thought I was having a heart attack and about to die.

My doctor prescribed antidepressants and anti-anxiety pills. But, on reading about their nasty side effects (e.g. dizziness, drowsiness, sleeping problems, vomiting, diarrhea, dependency), I settled for non-drug treatment to cure my anxiety. (Caution: Once having started prescription drugs, never ever stop them without first talking to your doctor).

So how did I go about remedying my anxiety without expensive drugs? Probably in the same way you are doing now: I searched on the Net. Luckily, pretty quickly, I came across two or three anxiety information sources that were very helpful. But one in particular knocked me sideways with a vital piece of information that shaped the way I approached things…

Did you know that the ‘fear’ of another anxiety attack can actually cause the attack to occur? So what you are in is a cycle of anxiety. In other words, you have anxiety, you fear another attack, you have another attack, this makes you even more anxious, and so on. It’s a vicious cycle that you must break out of in order to cure your anxiety.

By: John Cielo

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