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Panic attacks is a condition that belongs to the group of anxiety and panic disorders. It is most accurately described as a period of very intense fear, where person thinks that he/she is going to die, go crazy, experience a heart attack or some very similar, terrifying experience. People surviving it usually describe having narrow field of view, know as tunnel vision, shortness of breath and a sense of losing control. Panic disorder is quite common in the western world, one among seventy five people suffer from this kind of disorder. In life it usually appears during teens of early adulthood. Exact causes and factors are still unclear. Some studies say that inheritance plays a roll, but also major transitions in life, that cause stress, are said to be connected with this disease.
What are the most common symptoms of panic attacks?
Every person experiences it in a different way. Symptoms that occur can be:
- increased heart rate (tachycardia) or palpitations
- excessive sweating and shaking (including vibrations in legs)
- smothering, shortness of breath and chest pain causing hyperventilation
- paralyzing fear, often fear of death or going insane
- Nausea
- hot flashes or chills
- dizziness, numbness or tingling sensations
When person goes through a panic attack for the first time, it is very often confused with heart attack, mostly because of shortness of breath and chest pain. This feeling is very stressful and sometimes it can take couple of days to recover from. Repeated panic attacks are considered a syndrome of panic disorder.
Why do people have panic attacks?
Panic attack is a response of sympathetic nervous system. A lot of things can trigger stress, and our body normally reacts by releasing a hormone called adrenaline. Adrenaline causes our heart rate to increase, constricts our blood vessels, increases sweating to keep the body cool and dilates air passages preparing a body for either a fight or fleeing (also known as fight or flight response). If body’s reaction is too strong, then the result of all this is the increase in anxiety, which causes even more stress, more adrenaline and forms a loop.
Common stressors – what causes panic attacks?
It is said that panic disorder is found to run in families. This is not the only nor the predominant factor. Disorders like obsessive compulsive disorder, post traumatic stress, hypoglycemia, hyperthyroidism or Wilson’s disease can trigger the attack. Some substances in food and drinks also work as stressors, for example caffeine and nicotine. Alcohol and drug abuse can induce the attacks as well. Some medications can cause attacks as a side effects. Alcohol, decadron and benzodiazepine withdrawal can cause them as a rebound effect.
Panic attacks treatment – how to overcome panic attacks?
Panic attacks treatment today includes, besides medication, a wide range of interventions like psychological therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy and systematic desensitization (also known as exposure therapy). Although medication may help, most medical specialists agree that a combination of behavioral and cognitive therapy has the most impact and has the longest running effect. In the therapy, the patient is first informed about what panic disorder is, and how many people suffer from it. After that sufferers are helped to replace the negative thoughts they have when experiencing the attack with more realistic, positive thoughts.
Treatment also helps the patient to identify the triggers causing the attack. People are more afraid of the attack itself then they are afraid of the triggers and causes. Because of that patients are slowly exposed to the triggers, in the controlled environment, that helps a person experience them without developing an attack.
In some cases, antidepressants (such as, Paxil, Zoloft, Lexapro, Celexa, Effexor) and anti-anxiety medications (benzodiazepines, such as, Klonopin, Xanax, Ativan) are prescribed as the panic attacks treatment. These are used in cases when the attacks are so prominent that they interfere with normal everyday life.
It’s always great when a sufferer has a chance to help him/herself to overcome the problem, without the use of medications. Good self-help is always needed, because sufferer is always prepared to work on its phobias and fears in order to make the anxiety and panic a thing of a past. Panic away is an advanced cognitive technique born from traditional psychology that everyone can apply regardless of how long the anxiety has been present. It is recommended by many psychiatrists and psychologists to be one of the most useful and insightful techniques to eliminate panic attacks. Free demo is also available, in form of daily a newsletter. A lot of patients reported that the newsletter itself changed their life. There is no risk, try mini e-series of panic away today and enjoy a better life.
