Anxiety attacks are unpredictable, sudden, often discrete or not and are characterized by a feeling of fear, discomfort and different other cognitive or somatic symptoms. In most cases an anxiety attack appears with no apparent reason although one always exists. The one suffering might or might not realize what happens but his subconscious knows it all.
 
In most cases an anxiety attack will last around ten minutes but can be even shorter, lasting only around 5 minutes. On the other hand, we also have severe cases of anxiety attacks that are caused by a cyclic series of episodes and can even last for hours. Anxiety attacks will affect people differently and some individuals can even ride out one when they feel it is about to appear.

Reasons to Experiencing Anxiety Attacks

There are many reasons that can trigger anxiety attacks. In most cases younger people are more likely to develop them during high school and college years. This is because this is the period that puts the most importance on events. One event that might have caused what is perceived as a humiliation can cause an anxiety attack.

After this episode the individual tends to become much more highly to develop a second attack as the fear of that particular moment repeating is very strong. One common type of anxiety attack that is usually linked with the teenage period of one’s life is the one linked with public speaking. There are more people suffering from this than you might think. The good news is that most anxiety attacks are treated easily.

Heredity also pays a huge role in anxiety attacks. Panic disorders run in the family and inheritance genes actually play a very strong role in determining who will get an anxiety attack. There are also many biological causes that can cause them including vitamin B deficiency, obsessive compulsive disorders, post traumatic stress disorders and the list can go on.

Phobias will also cause panic attacks and there are also many short-term triggering causes that include significant personal loss, different life changes and stimulants such as caffeine or nicotine. One important life change can be considered a layoff. Individuals might develop an anxiety attack if they are laid off from work.

People That Get Laid Off

When an individual gets laid off, it can be an important shock. Unwillingly, the individual will link it with different other aspects of his/her life. You start thinking about possible lack of money and the fact that it might be difficult to get a new job. If you are over 40 years old there is also a constant belief going on around the world that nobody will hire you again.

The one problem that is the most disturbing stands in the lack of money just mentioned, especially when there is a spouse and children involved. Money makes the world go round and we all realize this, whether we want to or not. By getting laid off you unwillingly start to think of the fact that you will eventually have serious money problems in the future and this fact alone can stop you from getting another job.

It is hard to keep a high morale once such an event happened. The good news is that there are specialists that can aid you get rid of your anxiety. The bad news is that it usually costs money to hire one, money you might not have. This is where despair kicks in and you can not act normally. Anxiety takes over and you might end up experiencing and anxiety attack. Sometimes these episodes can be very strong and can lead to long time effects on one’s psychic side.

The Layoff Process

In most cases a layoff means that the company needs to cut down costs and needs to fire people in order to survive. There are also remote cases where other reasons for laying off an individual can be a reality but we are not going to talk about that now. Smaller companies will rarely have the means to offer valuable compensation to the individual that is laid off.

This can lead to the above mentioned situation of possible anxiety attack. When a larger company lays off people, they usually offer an amount of money as a “gift”. This “gift” is not much but can be a difference as it will offer some kind of certainty to the individual that he/she still has something to hang on while looking for another job.

Also, another considerable anxiety attack cause linked with laying off stands in issuing an improper reason for the decision. It is always better to come clean and if the situation is not really that positive, you can not attack an individual by telling him he is incapable.

Such a statement will make him lose self confidence and can also add to the favorable environment for an anxiety attack. Nobody wants to see their employees suffering and if they do they shouldn’t be in management positions.

What to Do

The best thing an individual can do when laid off is to talk to friends, family and ask for support. It can make a huge difference. The people that are close to the individual can aid him get back onto his feet and can bring a huge element in that can prevent the appearance of an anxiety attack. If one of your friends or family members has been laid off, be sure to contact him and offer as much support as you can.

Human beings have the quality of being able to both aid and destroy each other. In such a situation it should be aiding what comes to mind. An anxiety attack is not something easy to deal with and the individual that suffers from it needs all the help he can get. It is as simple as that: we need to help our friends and family members when they go through rough times like getting laid off. They might help us out too when the time comes for us to need help.