Attention: notice taken of someone or something; the regarding of someone or something as interesting or important. (Merriam Webster Dictionary)
"You just want people to pay attention to you."
"You could pull yourself together if you wanted to."
"You must enjoy so many people taking notice of you when you have one of your attacks."
These are statements that I have been told both personally, and by those who have anxiety. Regardless of who, and when...my question is why? Why would someone think these things? How does someone think these things? Do they REALLY think that we are going through this for the fun of it? The Dr. visits, the tests, becoming a guinea pig for the drs, the tears, the symptoms, the weeks of staying home because we just can't do it...all of it just for some attention?
These statements are evidence of someone who has no idea what anxiety is or how it happens. Someone who doesn't have compassion for those who suffer with it. Someone who has such a horrible misunderstand of what truly happens in this illness.
Lets cover some basics of a panic attack...
What You Feel
A panic attack means you have four or more of these symptoms:
Feel like you’re losing control or going crazy
Pounding heart
Sweating
Trembling or shaking
Shortness of breath
Chest pain
Nausea
Dizziness
Chills or hot flashes
An out-of-body sensation
Like you’re choking
A fear that you’re dying
Tingling or numb hands, arms, feet, or legs
Many people mistake a panic attack for a medical emergency, like a heart attack. The symptoms can seem similar, but panic attacks aren’t life-threatening. They usually pass in several minutes, but they can sometimes linger for hours. Afterward, you might feel drained and exhausted.
What Happens Inside Your Body
Your body’s “fight or flight” response is behind these intense physical symptoms. Normally when you encounter a threat -- whether it’s a grizzly bear or a swerving car -- your nervous system springs into action. The hormone adrenaline floods into your bloodstream, putting your body on high alert. Your heartbeat quickens, which sends more blood to your muscles. Your breathing becomes fast and shallow, so you can take in more oxygen. Your blood sugar spikes. Your senses get sharper.
All of these changes -- which happen in an instant -- give you the energy you need to confront a dangerous situation or get out of harm’s way quickly.
With random panic attacks, your body goes on alert for no reason. Researchers don’t know exactly what triggers them. But the physical effects are real: During a panic attack, the adrenaline levels in the body can spike by 2 1/2 times or more.
Panic attacks may not come as unexpectedly as they seem. The physical changes may start about an hour before an attack. In one study, people with panic disorder wore devices that tracked their heart activity, sweating, and breathing. The results showed lower-than-normal levels of carbon dioxide, a sign of rapid, deep breathing that can leave you breathless, as early as about 45 minutes before the panic attack.
What Happens in Your Brain
Scientists are still studying how panic attacks affect the brain. It’s possible that the parts of the brain that are tied to fear become more active during an episode. One recent study found that people with panic disorder had lots of activity in a part of their brains tied to the “fight or flight” response.
Other studies have found possible links between panic disorder and the chemicals in your brain. The condition may also be linked to an imbalance in serotonin levels, which can affect your moods. (Courtesy of WebMD)
Everything about will then cause a loop of severe anxiety which has MANY of the same symptoms. The anxiety will then cause you to be home bound, completely exhausted, and feeling as though you have been trampled on by a herd of elephants. Dizziness can last for days, weeks, months. Nausea can be slight to severe. The pounding headaches can be completely debilitating! Having to shake off the numbness and tingling in your hands and feet just so you can walk across the house to use the restroom. The heart palpitations that can leave you breathless at times. And many more physical symptoms that I could list...but I won't for the sake of not making this "too long".
The last thing someone wants who has horrible anxiety is to be the center of attention in the middle of an attack. We want them to happen as quietly, and as non-conspicuously as possible. The more attention we get during an attack, the worse it seems to get. There are so many more things we could do if we just wanted attention. Dye our hair a wild color, get a huge tattoo, wear a shirt that says "LOOK AT ME"...why would we choose a crippling illness like anxiety? And yes, anxiety disorder is an illness.
We live in such fear of what others think and believe about what we go through on a daily basis that so many refuse to speak of their suffering, largely in part due to opinions like this one.
We need to find our voice so we can defend ourselves against opinions from people who think wrongly about our disorder. You are NOT an attention seeker! You are a person who battles with a disorder. You have an illness that you have no control over. Don't let their opinions take your voice! Break the silence!
I refuse to keep quiet about anxiety. Too many suffer in silence, and are too scared of what will be said about them. I speak out because of them them! I speak out for those who feel like they can't. Will you speak out for them? Will you help break the silence?
"Be kind, you never know someones struggle."