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Anxiety

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Anxiety can be described as negative feelings of psychological tension and general unease. These feelings can range from subtle and ignorable to intense and overwhelming enough to trigger panic attacks and feelings of impending doom. Anxiety is often accompanied by nervous behavior such as rumination, somatic complaints, restlessness, and muscular tension.

Anxiety can be caused by environmental factors, by an inescapable effect of the drug itself, by a lack of experience with the substance, or by the experience of negative hallucinations. It is different from fear in that the feelings of anxiety are an overreaction to a situation that is not realistically dangerous.

Panic Attacks

Panic attacks are periods of intense anxiety that are of sudden onset [1] and of variable duration from minutes to hours.[2] Panic attacks usually begin abruptly, may reach a peak within 10 to 20 minutes, but may continue for hours in some cases. Panic attacks usually subside on their own over the next several hours.

The cognitive and physical effects of a panic attack are detailed below:

  • Hyperventilation - Hyperventilation occurs when one breathes deeper and more rapidly than usual. When hyperventilating, one may feel as though they are struggling to get enough air. As this causes a decrease of carbon dioxide in the blood, it may result in lightheadedness, a rapid heartbeat, chest pain, or a tingling sensation in your limbs. [3]
  • Abnormal heart rate and palpitations - Due to the release of stress hormones, one may experience heart symptoms including missed beats, palpitations, heart pain, and an accelerated heart rate.
  • Sweating
  • Trembling or shaking
  • Shortness of breath - This sensation may feel like your chest won't expand or like you are being smothered.
  • Feeling of choking
  • Chest pain or discomfort
  • Nausea or abdominal distress
  • Feeling dizzy, unsteady, lightheaded, or faint
  • Derealization - This is the feeling of unreality.
  • Depersonalization - This is the feeling of being detached from oneself.
  • Fear of losing control or going insane
  • Sense of impending death
  • Paresthesias - This can be described as a loss of sensation as well as numbness and tingling sensations throughout the body. It feels as if one's skin or body parts are numb to the touch, and this can occur in a small area or become all-encompassing throughout multiple body parts or the entire body. Numbness most frequently occurs with the hands, legs, arms, feet, and face. This effect is accompanied by a pins and needle sensation and it generally increases along with hyperventilation.
  • Chills or hot flashes
  • Delusions

Psychoactive substances

Compounds from our psychoactive substance index which our may cause this effect include:

Experience reports

Anecdotal reports which describe this effect with our experience index include:

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://m-w.com/dictionary/panic%20attack | Panic attack - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary
  2. ↑ Panic disorder | http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000924.htm
  3. ↑ Hyperventilation | http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/hyperventilation-topic-overview
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