Whitlam Institute

What Matters 2019 Shortlist

What Matters 2019 Shortlist

Anxiety Attacks Matter

Anxiety Attacks Matter

Ellissa Hatoum

Year 7, Amity college

When your heart is racing and and you are shaking uncontrollably. You are suffering excruciating pain. Your breath shortens and shortens, and everything is blurry. Your dizziness excels as if you are spinning around and around. Your worst fears are locked up in your head and you seem out of control of your own body. This is what happens when you have an anxiety attack. 

Anxiety attacks mainly come from stress. Anxiety impact the central nervous system which can lead the brain into releasing stress hormones and this can cause the anxiety attacks symptoms to last even longer. Anxiety attacks trigger fear which increases. The central nervous system is like a balloon and stress and anxiety are like the air blown up in the balloon. As the stress and anxiety increases the balloon is blown up with more air until the balloon is filled up with too much air and pops releasing the air. When the air in the balloon is released it is like the brain releasing the stress hormones.  

If the anxiety of a person is serious this can keep progressing into a panic attack. Panic attacks are very similar to anxiety attacks however a panic attack is something unexpected while an anxiety attack is something that can be expected to happen. Anxiety attacks can last up to approximately ten to thirty minutes but they can last longer. Anxiety attacks can lead to having fear of the attacks that were experienced. This fear can lead to depression, sadness, being traumatised and even grief. Furthermore it can lead to hallucinations. The hallucinations are especially caused by the trigger of anxiety, it would seem like the fantasy is a reality but it would be difficult to tell the difference. This is because your brain is abnormally highly active and it has extremely high stress levels. It is basically like when you wake up from a dream and what you think you dreamt was real.

There is no instant cure for anxiety attacks but there is a way to manage your anxiety attacks. You can manage your anxiety attacks by, for a start, taking deep breaths and realising that the anxiety is in your head. Try to also distract yourself and get over the initial fear. If the anxiety attacks are uncontrollable it is best to talk to a counselor or therapist to get the worries and fears out of your head. The anxiety attack might recur if there is too much stress in the brain. For example when you put too much air into a balloon it will pop but the same thing will happen again. So if you put too much stress and anxiety in the central nervous system again you will have a recurring anxiety attack.

Even though you can't die from anxiety or anxiety attacks it is still a very serious illness and attack. Anxiety attacks can lead to mental health issues and cause more and more hallucinations. Anxiety can control your life and it can cause migraines, heart complications, numbness, intrusive thoughts and over thinking. Anxiety and anxiety attacks can be as severe as having a chemical imbalance in the brain which is something you need to take medication to keep it stable. Overall anxiety and anxiety attacks certainly matter.