Anxiety can cause symptoms that lead to more anxiety. This is one of the main reasons that anxiety and panic attacks are so hard to stop – once you have anxiety, it can often lead to symptoms that cause anxiety to develop further.

What is an anxiety attack? An anxiety attack is an abrupt chemical imbalance in the body that produces intense fear or discomfort. While an anxiety attack can reach its peak within a few minutes, it’s a combination of threatening symptoms and chemical after-burn can leave a person reeling for hours or even days.

The most common symptoms of anxiety or panic attacks include:

• Palpitations, pounding heart, or accelerated heart rate
• Sweating
• Trembling or shaking
• Sensations of shortness of breath or smothering
• Feelings of choking
• Chest pain or discomfort
• Nausea or abdominal distress
• Feeling dizzy, unsteady, light-headed, or faint
• Chills or heat sensations
• Paresthesia (numbness or tingling sensations)
• Derealization (feelings of unreality) or depersonalization (being detached from oneself)
• Fear of losing control or “going crazy”
• Fear of dying

Since many of the symptoms of panic disorder mimic those of heart disease, thyroid problems, breathing disorders, and other illnesses, people with panic disorders often make many visits to emergency rooms or doctors’ offices, convinced they have a life-threatening issue. Others are afraid or embarrassed to tell anyone including their doctors or loved ones about what they are experiencing, for fear of being seen as a hypochondriac.

Unfortunately, we are a nation suffering a 32 percent incidence of anxiety, depression, and drug problems. Instead of treating anxiety disorders and stress reactions properly with magnesium and proper nutrition, each year millions of people are introduced to the merry-go-round of psychiatric drugs and psychological counseling for symptoms that may, in fact, be rooted in magnesium deficiency.