We all experience different types of stress everyday.  There’s stress from deadlines, conflicts, personal fears, misunderstandings, new tasks and public speaking just to name a few.  With all the different types of stress it’s understandable people need different stress management tips to cope.

But very few people consider what your body interprets as stress.  Consider for a moment the symptoms of stress and how similar they are to anxiety attack symptoms – sweaty palms, rapid breathing, butterflies, nervousness, muscle tension, loss of sleep, etc.  These symptoms can be experienced under negative stress, but can also be experienced during good times; For example when you meet someone you like, or when you’ve been given a promotion at work, if you’ve won a prize or you’re entering a competition.  The key here is not actually about the stress it’s how you handle it and release it.  It could be a good Stress Relief CD, some sort of sport, relaxing with friends, reading a book or even sleeping.  There are even really positive links between yoga and stress relief.  These are all very good and there are many other stress management tips available on the internet for stress relief if you look.  There are even some really good Relaxation Techniques for Kids which are very important especially when kids are going through that age of development.

The key here (as I mentioned earlier) is how you handle it and release it.  Good stress and bad stress needs to be released eventually.  Better to release it before it impacts on your body.

If you’ve ever experienced an Anxiety Attack or Stress Attack you’ll understand how down and out they can make you feel.  Although Anxiety Attack symptoms vary from person to person the end result is still the same.  It’s important to find some method of relaxation techniques for anxiety  to overcome any long term effect your anxiety attacks may cause. 

But at times it can all seem too much. I mean you want to fix the issue, yet the goal posts can seem so far away from where you are right now.  This is where the baby steps principle comes in handy.  When you step back and you look at where you would like to be then you can break it down into smaller, easier to achieve tasks.  Rather than focussing on the huge task of making it to the end, you only need to focus on the next step, which makes it less daunting. 

For example – If you had a fear of flying and you wanted to feel calm instead of experiencing an anxiety attack every time you even visited an airport you could begin by practicing relaxation breathing techniques and visualization techniques for relaxation for 10 mins everyday.  During this time you would meditate on the thought of flying and use other stress management techniques to address the issue of flying.  Then after 1 week, visit an airport and watch the planes.  Note: you are not going there to fly; you are simply watching the majestic planes flying overhead.  Once you master the first small step then move onto the next step and so on.

Remember: To overcome the fear, break the fear down into smaller pieces, handle each smaller piece and complete the overall task by putting all the pieces back together again.

Flying scares so many people and there are several different reasons why. It could be the fear of heights, fear of falling, fear of death, fear of confined spaces, fear of pain and I’m sure there are more but these are the main ones. There are even some people that feel the start of an anxiety attack when they think of flying. We all know those anxiety attack symptoms I’m talking about – increased heart rate, sweaty palms, increased breathing, butterflies and for many that feeling of pressure pushing down on them. But do you want to overcome this fear? Even if your answer is Yes, there are several steps you need to take to overcome your Fear of Flying and get rid of that nasty anxiety panic attack.

One instant step is to approach your fear with logic. Ask yourself – is this a rational fear? What is the actual chance you will be harmed by flying? Sure there are a lot of Tv shows that show plane incidents, but how many are safe? How many incidents are there with cars compared to planes?

These are some of the questions you need to answer when looking at tackling that fear of flying. Like most fears that cause anxiety attacks you will find they are irrational. Don’t think for a second I’m trying to bag you, I also had a fear of flying. I used to experience an anxiety attack every time I flew. My symptoms of an anxiety attack were similar to everyone else’s, but one of the steps I took to overcome this fear was by understanding

Is it a rational fear? Of course this is only one step and alone may not help you to overcome the fear of flying the any further anxiety panic attack.

Most of you reading this wouldn’t be surprised if I were to say Public speaking for many brings on an Anxiety Attack. After all, public speaking is in the top ten of Greatest Fears of all time. So why do you believe Public Speaking would bring on the symptoms of an Anxiety Attack? Is it the fear of saying something wrong? The Fear of looking like a fool. Whatever it is people around the world in all different walks of life experience an Anxiety Panic Attack at the thought of standing in front of a crowd.

I’ll let you in on a little secret … everyone experiences some form of anxiety when they speak in public. Basically, if you have an uncontrollable fear of Public speaking, your Anxiety Attack symptoms are similar to someone who actually speaks in public all the time. Yet the people who do it all the time use it a way to tap into it, and as a result are able to turn the volume down on their symptoms.

Let’s assume you want to overcome it for a moment. Here’s one suggestion: Practice. Begin by practicing in front of some friends or family. After all, these are people you feel comfortable around. You can read something from the newspaper or something you’ve written. It doesn’t matter what it is, but do it regularly and you’ll become more comfortable and confident in your own abilities. This is the start to overcoming that problem with Anxiety Attacks, and building a more confident YOU.

Whether it’s standing in front of a Crowd or trying to meet a deadline, the Anxiety Attack is a nasty creature that comes to visit you ate the worst of times.  What are Anxiety Attack Symptoms?  You know them when you’ve got them, a few of the symptoms are: Racing heart, loss of breath, sweaty palms, and generally freaking out.  So we now know what is an Anxiety Attack, but the question isn’t what you can do about these symptoms of an anxiety attack, the real question is what to do when having an anxiety attack?  There are a couple of quick tricks I can tell you.  When you’re facing that old Anxiety Panic Attack focus on a point in front of you, and begin breathing, slowly and controlled breaths.  Count the breaths in your mind – Breath in 1 and 2, Breath out 3 and 4.  Keep these breaths slow and controlled.  Understand it will pass, even though some times it feels like the world in going to close on you.  This is simply another symptom of an Anxiety Attack.  Beyond this, when you finally calm down, seek further help.  This will help you to get over it, and get out there again.

Everyday we must make decisions, and those decisions may be changed if we are faced with something we fear.  When faced with something you don’t want to do, you may experience Anxiety Attack Symptoms.  Some of the common symptoms are rapid heart beat, sweaty palms, nausea, dizziness, and just plain fear!  When faced with a Anxiety Panic Attack it can leave you feeling like a bit of a failure, especially if it’s a fear you’ve been trying to overcome for a while.  For example, I am currently dealing with a fear of heights. 

For me, the symptoms of an anxiety attack I face are a similar to the ones above, and I unfortunately when I’m in that situation I think of what might happen (worse case) and I panic even more.  So have you ever wondered what to do when having an anxiety attack?

Before I place myself in the situation I ask if it’s a logic or illogical fear.  If it’s an illogical fear I face the fear.  When I experience the Anxiety Panic Attack I focus on the task at hand and on controlling my breathing.  I then take small steps to keep moving to overcome the fear.  After all an Anxiety Attack can bring you down, it can take control of your life, and it can force you into a position of fear.  It will stop you from living a life full of great experience.

For a lot of people, suffering Anxiety Attacks can be one of the scariest and draining experiences imaginable.  Before we cover what to do when having an anxiety attack we need to look at Anxiety Attack Symptoms.  Some of the most common symptoms are: Rapid Heart Beat, Dizziness or disorientation, the shakes, Tingling in your hands or feet, butterflies or nausea, Cold Sweats and the feeling of panic.  The first thing to remember is to breathe deep controlled breaths. When suffering an Anxiety Panic Attack you may have a tendency to breathe shallow, quick breaths.  Focus on calm thoughts; a place you feel most at peace or a loved one you like to be around.  Understand your Anxiety Attack is only temporary and it will pass.  More important than the actual Anxiety Attacks is the cause.  Find out what in your life is causing the attacks.  Remember, if it persists seek advice rather than just suffering in silence.  The sooner you deal with it the faster you’ll be back on your path and living life to the fullest.