In a study by Harvard University it was found that 60% - 90% of all medical office visits in the United States are for stress related disorders. In another study it was found that one of the most popular medications in western society is anti-anxiety.

     In this chapter major symptoms of stress and anxiety are discussed. In most of them there is description of a client who suffered form that issue and the therapeutic approach that was applied to overcoming the symptoms. Following are the differences between fear, anxiety and panic attack.

Fear is a normal reaction to a dangerous stimulus. It may help a person to deal with a difficult situation, such as walking down a dark deserted street or encountering a ferocious, barking dog. Fear makes us more alert and careful. It usually ends soon after we are out of the situation that caused it.

Anxiety is an extreme fear that arouses a physiological and psychological reactions characterized by cognitive, somatic, emotional, and behavioral components. (A list of anxiety symptoms can be found in the chapter: “Anxiety Questionnaire - How Anxious Are You?”) Severe anxiety may cause people feel as if they are loosing control or that they suffer from a sever  ailments such as heart attack or cancer. As a result, people may develop “Fear of the Fear” i.e. they become afraid of sensing one or more of the anxiety symptoms.  

Panic attack is a feeling of terror that strike suddenly and repeatedly with no warning. While most attacks average a couple of minutes, occasionally they can go on for up to 10 minutes. In rare cases, they may last an hour or more. The symptoms are similar to those during an anxiety attack but extreme. People who suffer form panic attacks cannot predict when an attack will occur, and many develop intense anxiety between episodes, worrying when and where the next one will strike.  In between times, there is a persistent, lingering worry that another attack could come any minute. The first episode of panic attack has a psychological trigger, usually it is catastrophic expectation. The following attacks may be the outcome of “Fear of the Fear.”