Severe symptoms of anxiety can result in a panic attack – a sudden and overwhelming feeling of extreme anxiety, with shakiness, nausea, sweating or heart palpitations.
These feelings can result in hyperventilation (over-breathing) which can lead to more unwanted symptoms, making you feel even worse.
A typical panic attack will last 5 to 10 minutes, and despite the feelings, is not harmful.
Often the fear of having a panic attack becomes even more debilitating than the attacks themselves, and people may decide to withdraw from situations and activities which have triggered attacks in the past. This can become a downward spiral, and I urge you to seek therapy rather than limit yourself in this way. Hypnotherapy is very successful in preventing panic attacks, and providing you with strategies to use in any stressful situations in your life.