Anxiety can start as early as 6 months old, babies may fear large objects, loud noise or separation. With toddlers and pre-school age children the fears may include being alone and darkness. School age children may fear ghosts, failure, tests criticism and like adults actual physical harm and threats. Younger children don’t worry like adult or older children, as they don’t have the mechanics to imagine future events or bad things associated with the future.

Children quite often react to change, whether it be moving house, a break up of their parents relationship or the death of someone close. It is important parents take a child’s anxiety seriously, and help then cope with change in a caring and positive manner. Children with Anxiety quite often have the same symptoms as adults, but find it harder to express how they are feeling, and often a child will act out when they are distressed. If parents see a change in their child’s behavior they should get a professional opinion.

Even doctors can have trouble diagnosing anxiety in children, and often parents don’t recognize the symptoms either so if parents notice their child is acting differently than normal, they can talk to their child openly and see if there is anything that is stressing them. Listen and then act accordingly, because if your child develops an Anxiety Disorder they will need treatment promptly.

Children with untreated anxiety often develop poor social skills, are at a high risk of not doing well at school and as they get older may self medicate with drugs or alcohol. That’s why treatment is vital when they first start showing signs of anxiety, if necessary get more than one doctors opinion.

I remember being scared when I was younger, and through my teenage years and most of my adulthood, when I was a child anxiety wasn’t a disorder and fear was just fear. We didn’t get professional help unless it was a physical injury or illness. Mental illness wasn’t talked about like it is today, had it been I may have learned to manage my anxiety a lot earlier and had a different and happier life.

I don’t blame anyone for my anxiety, I just wish I my mother knew what to look for and had more information about mental illness. I urge all parents to look for the signs of anxiety in your child, it may just be normal childhood fear which can be helped with love and support, but it may not and can turn into a Anxiety Disorder. Even if you are not sure it won’t hurt to find out for sure from a professional.

I avoided looking for work, going to social functions and many other situations because of this. Even getting in a car, shopping or getting on public transport was absolutely terrifying. I was very limited with what I could do and basically crippled my lifestyle for over 10 years. This very quickly stopped me from going out at all. I had one stint of 8 years of not leaving the house at all, my neighbors didn’t know I was there. They thought my partner lived alone, sadly my home became my safe place.

People who suffer from Agoraphobia have a safe place, everyone’s safe place is different. If you have your attacks in your car on a main road you may choose to only drive on quiet streets and limit where you drive. Or you may find like me, standing in long lines to pay a bill or at supermarkets waiting to pay for your groceries causes a Panic Attack. You may then get someone else to pay your bills or shop at a smaller shop with less customers. That becomes your Safe Zone, you end up being very limited in your daily life or do as I did, practically made myself a recluse locked between 4 walls.

Anyone who suffers from Agoraphobia knows only too well the intense fear that overtakes you, your mind turns to mush and your body just won’t co-operate.You sweat, your heart races, your legs feel like jelly, and you wish you were in your Safe Place. Then later on when you get to your Safe Place you wonder why this happens to you, which just makes you more anxious. It’s a confining and frightening condition.

Agoraphobia can develop without suffering Anxiety or Panic Disorder, although it is uncommon, but more often is linked to these and other disorders. The cause of Agoraphobia is unknown, but it is to be thought to be caused by genetic, chemical imbalance in the brain, environment and social situations. Agoraphobia can be treated, it’s obviously better to get treatment as soon as you experience Anxiety or Panic Attacks, but even after years of suffering, like me you can learn to control it. Once I learned to take control of my Anxiety and Panic Attacks, my Agoraphobia became a thing of the past.

If in a room or building, Claustrophobia sufferers may constantly be checking for doorways and exits or standing close to exits even in large rooms, and feeling fear when doors are closed. Smalls spaces like cars, planes and lifts ca also bring anxious feelings. In some cases being in these situations can bring on panic attacks, in extreme cases just seeing a closed door may cause a Panic Attack.

Claustrophobia, can develop from a childhood trauma such as being locked in a small space for long periods of time, or a near drowning experience can cause this phobia. As with all Anxiety disorders the cause of Claustrophobia can be genetic or bio chemical. Whatever the cause many Anxiety Disorder sufferers will develop some type of phobia, in my case I developed more than one.

There are many things you can do to help yourself control your fears and thoughts, you can start with small goals to overcome your phobia. If you try and rush your recovery by reaching for larger goals, you may get overwhelmed and your condition may get worse, on the other hand not acting at all with just intensify your phobia. Self help programs and relaxation techniques can also be very helpful.

Try to keep positive when confronting your fears, tell yourself your are stronger than your thoughts and give yourself the power to overcome them. Becoming involved in a hobby, sport or course that helps you feel more confident, can also help you empower yourself against your phobia.

It’s very hard getting your head around having an Anxiety Disorder and or Phobia, and even more difficult to take that first step to recovery. I found as soon as I learned that my Panic Attacks and Phobias couldn’t hurt me physically, it was much easier to get on with life and control my mind and body once again. The human mind is an amazing and complex piece of machinery, and once you can understand and control your thoughts, your Anxiety Disorders and Phobias will soon be under control too.

If your partner suffers from Anxiety or Panic Disorder, you will need to know how to assist them in their recovery. The first thing you need to do is take them and their disorder seriously, be very supportive as they are feeling vulnerable and frightened. It won’t be easy helping your partner get through this you may get snapped at, and when they are feeling the anxiety they may be in their own little world. Mainly all they want is someone to try and understand what they are going through.

Here are a few points that can help you support your loved one…

1. Never tell them they are crazy…that will only re-enforce what they are already thinking and retard their recovery.

2. Let them know set backs are normal and part of any recovery. Encourage them when they take a positive step towards their recovery.

3. If your partner has trouble leaving the house, don’t spring surprise outings on them. This will also make them more anxious and may trigger a panic attack.

4. When you are away from home with your partner play it by ear, if he or she is experiencing Anxiety let them guide you to what is more comfortable for them. If they want to change the plans or go home let them.

5.If you and your partner do go out together and you get separated plan before you go to have a meeting place where you can re-connect and be sure to head there as soon as you realize you have been separated, or it may again trigger a Panic Attack if he or she gets there first and finds you’re not there.

These are just some helpful tips for looking after an Anxiety sufferer, there are many more and you are not a mind reader so you won’t always know what your partner wants. All you can do is listen to what they are saying to you, be supportive and caring. Your partner will guide you and let you know what they need for their recovery.

Never tell him or her that their Anxiety and Panic Attacks are all in their mind and to get over it or stop being silly, they are not in control and can’t help what they are feeling. If your partner has an attack you can’t stop it and it will pass, hold them if that’s what they need and reassure them. Remind them a panic attack can’t hurt them and they will be alright.

Most importantly remember your are there to support your partner, you are not responsible for their recovery.Your partner has to learn to control his or her attacks and heal from within. Also look after your own health, being a support person can be mentally straining. You can’t be any help to yourself or your partner if you wear yourself out, be there for them don’t try and recover for them.

You may also experience symptoms much like those of Anxiety, which include Trembling, Sweating, Palpitations. sinking feeling or an almost irresistible or to run away. You may also feel like your fears are irrational and blame yourself for feeling that way, rather than trying to understand that your fears are a disorder. This is completely normal and you shouldn’t feel ashamed or embarrassed.

The emotional symptoms you may feel can include being self conscious or having a feeling of failure, you may avoid social situations or isolate yourself from friends or family, and you might be more likely to abuse drugs or alcohol to give you more confidence to wonder out into a social situation.

Things You May Avoid Or Be Uncomfortable With, Include:

Being the center of attention

Being introduced to new people

Being watched by people when you are doing something

Meeting people in Authority

Using the telephone

All these things are completely normal for a Social Anxiety sufferer…you are not crazy and there are steps you can take to overcome all the symptoms. Try to find someone close to you for support, they can help if you can’t avoid going out and don’t want to go alone. One really important thing is to try and avoid alcohol to give you dutch courage, alcohol is a depressant and may help you at the time, but in the long term will only increase your anxiety. I know this for a fact as I used to self medicate.

One of the first steps of overcoming Social disorder is understanding your feelings and fears, reading about your disorder or joining a forum for Social Anxiety sufferers can also help you to understand your disorder. The main thing for you do do is to realize you have a disorder and takes steps to treat it and recover, which can be done either by getting therapy or using self help as I did, and by that I don’t mean self medicate. There are self help methods that can help you and none of them recommend self medication.

Understanding that it is not the the intrusive thoughts that are responsible for your despair is the one of the steps in overcoming Anxiety and panic attacks. It’s the way you react to the thoughts that causes your mind and body to go into panic mode. Anyone who suffers from Anxiety and Panic Attacks know only to well how frightening that panic mode can be. I found it terrifying when I had a panic attack when I was out of the house, but found it extremely distressing when I found I wasn’t even safe at home.

My home was my safe place and when I found out the anxiety intruder could invade my home..it left me felling pretty helpless. It’s amazing how these intrusive thoughts can turn your life upside down and badly affect the wiring in your brain. I like to to compare the worrying thoughts the self esteem. Just like some people find it hard to except the positive words spoken to them, yet have no problems believing the negative things that people say to them.

It works very much the same with your thoughts, when you have negative or worrying thoughts, you tend to concentrate on them and not the positive and happy thoughts… and then so it goes… off into panic mode. The symptoms as frightening as they are can be controlled, it’s just a matter of understanding your anxiety disorder and learning some coping skills to help you over come the fear that Anxiety brings on.

Learning to control our thoughts is another step towards beating Anxiety and Panic attacks. In my case I learned that these attacks couldn’t hurt me, that was the hard part. I then learned that if I faced my thoughts and the things that made me anxious, I could take control again and not be crippled by my Anxiety Disorder. Anxiety can be overcome, sometimes in a very short time, for some people it might be a longer process but it’s one you can overcome with a little help.

After a couple of years of drinking and depression, I started having panic attacks which lead to a vicious circle of self medication. I remember my first panic attack like it was yesterday…I was on the way to pick up my youngest son from school, when the gripping fear came on followed by dizziness and a very short blackout. I had no idea what it was at the time but I new it wasn’t normal.

At first the attacks only came on very now and then, but they terrified me and lead me to start drinking each time an attack came on. The alcohol calmed me down and made feel strong and in control again. So the vicious circle begins…that’s how my life went for the next 10 years. It got to the stage I just stopped going out in fear of having an attack, instead I locked myself behind my front door and wouldn’t step outside without a drink and my partner by my side.

I learned how to control the panic attacks when I went to alcohol counseling, but I still suffered anxiety. The key to my recovery from Anxiety and panic attacks was to get my head around the fact that the panic attacks couldn’t hurt me, and that I would be ok. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy was my life saver. It taught me about my feelings, why I was feeling the way I was, and how to control those feelings.

I feel so much better now than I have for years, since my attacks I went back to work, and are now capable of leaving the house without any alcohol or someone holding my hand. I hope this short article can help you come to terms with whatever form of anxiety your suffer from, and helps you understand that you don’t have to live with Anxiety. You are not crazy, even though you may feel you are. Please be aware there are many others like you and I all over the world and you can be free of these attacks for life.

Symptoms of Anxiety

At some time in all our lives we experience some form of anxiety, but for Anxiety Disorder sufferers anxiety is a part of their everyday life. There is a big difference between normal anxiety and Anxiety Disorder and Panic Attacks. Normal anxiety is what we feel when we are a bit anxious about something.. a job interview, or a doctor’s appointment etc. With Anxiety disorder the symptoms are much more severe…such as difficulty controlling worry, Restlessness and being on edge, difficulty concentrating or mind blankness, irritability, social impairment and impairment in other major areas of functioning.

Panic Attack Symptoms

Anyone who has suffered from panic attacks will know they are absolutely terrifying, you literally feel like you are going to die. Some of the symptoms are accelerated heart beat, sweating, trembling or shaking, shortness of breath, chest pain or discomfort, feeling dizzy or unsteady, fear of losing control, upset stomach, chills or hot flushes, numbness and tingling and fear of dying. All very frightening and not fun to live with.

Statistics show that….

National Institutes of Health, 2005. NIH Publication No. 06-4584

* 6.8 million Americans have Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
* Approximately 40 million Americans suffer from all anxiety disorders combined.
* Approximately 6 million American adults ages 18 and older have panic disorder.
* Approximately 15 million American adults age 18 and over have social phobia.
* Approximately 19.2 million American adults age 18 and over have some type of specific phobia.

The statistics are very frightening, and with the worlds economic state the way it is, these statistics are bound to rise. There is no doubt times are tough and there are going to be a lot more cases of Depression worldwide, and depression can lead to anxiety and panic attacks.

There is good news is anxiety disorder and panic attacks don’t have to be a part of your everyday life, there is no need to let these disorders cripple your lifestyle. I lived with both anxiety disorder and panic attacks for 12 years, but have learned how to control them and you can do the same. You will find a new found freedom as I did and will start enjoying life once again..there is help and it’s not as hard as you may think.