1. What is a panic attack?
A question that is asked quiet a lot is 'what is a panic attack?' It is a brief period of extreme anxiety, fear or apprehension. Most people suffering from their first panic attack say each attack feels similar to a heart attack or nervous breakdown. At the time sufferers feel like they are in physical agony, however un
2. How do I know I am having a panic attack? What are the symptoms?
As said earlier, attacks can be experienced as feeling like heart attacks or nervous breakdowns. Most of the time they strike for the first time between the age of 15 - 20 and are often a symptom of a bigger anxiety disorder.
While panic attacks mimic many of the symptoms of a heart attack, they are two different things. The most common symptom of a panic attack is heart palpitations - a cool way of saying the heart rate increases rapidly - nausea or becoming dizzy, trouble breathing or a loosing breath, and trembling. Tingling or numbness in the hands, as well as chest and stomach pains, are also common. The most common symptom is a feeling of wanting to escape, or of an horrible fear. Most of the time people who experience these attacks are highly fearful of something, but they can't say what it is they are so scared of.
When these symptoms flare up it feels like it will be very difficult to stop panic attacks.
3. How long does a panic attack last?
Everybody is different, and will react in different ways to panic attacks. Occasionally the initial attack can last for up to 10 minutes before the person feels the anxiety flooding out of them, but other people say while their panic attack decreases after a relatively short time they still feel anxiety and apprehension for a couple of days afterwards.
Between 40 to 70 per cent of people who suffer from panic attacks during the day will also experience nighttime attacks. All panic attacks are terrifying experiences but nighttime attacks are particularly distressing, as they have the potential to have a more intense or noticeable impact on the respiratory (breathing) systems of the person suffering from the problem.
4. How common is this problem?
Believe it or not, panic attacks are actually reasonably common - although to sufferers it certainly does not feel that way at the time! Experts are saying that panic attacks are a high health problem amongst adults around the world, with evidence showing at least 20 per cent of American adults - around 60 million people - will experience the problem at some stage in their lives.
Women are twice as likely to suffer from panic attacks as men, although in childhood cases boys are just as likely to suffer from panic attacks as girls.
5. What causes panic attacks?
It is tricky to pinpoint causes or triggers of panic attacks, as there are so many people that have to put up with them. The main cause of panic attacks appears to be genes. Panic disorders are often hereditary and mean some people have a greater predisposition or chance of suffering from attacks themselves if the problem runs in the family. Other biological causes of attacks are not genetic.
People with medical conditions such as larger panic disorders such as obsessive compulsive disorder and post traumatic stress disorder can suffer from panic attacks, as can people with other medical conditions such as hypoglycaemia, mitral valve prolapse, hyper-ventilation syndrome and even inner-ear problems. Some medications are also known to spark off attacks. Alcohol and drug withdrawl - including caffeine - can also trigger attacks. The problem is also believed to be more common in those with a negative self-image or a proneness to be passive. Last but not least, significant personal trauma for example the loss of a loved one can also set off the attacks.
6. Why do these triggers mean I have a panic attack?
Believe it or not, from a physiological point of view a attack is the body trying to protect itself from harm. A unexpected spike in being scared also results in a unexpected spike in adrenaline, which in turn prompts the "fight-or-flight response".
The fight or flight response is a well-documented scientific theory, which basically proposes when a person feels scared their body prepares them for extreme physical activity - either the need to run away from a situation really fast, or the need to defend themselves against a threat. When your body goes into fight or flight mode, your heart rate accelerates, you start breathing rapidly, and you may also begin to sweat. Because you're not really about to fight or escape, the hyperventilation (difficulty breathing) increases the level of carbon dioxide in the body (in the lungs first, then in the bloodstream). This moves all the blood around your body, which can cause some of the other symptoms like lightheadedness or nausea. The release of the extra adrenaline causes lightheadedness too.
Unfortunately it is sometimes a catch-22: Because you feel yourself getting short of breath, you try to take deeper swallows of air, which means more carbon dioxide, which increases the feeling of not being able to breathe properly. In the face of these steps happening in your body it is really difficult to stop panic attacks.
7. How is the problem different between men and women, and children and adults?
For everyone it is difficult to stop the attacks. Despite that same feeling of being overwhelmed by the attack, which causes people to feel like the attack is disabling them or preventing them from being able to do anything to try and stop the panic attack, there are some differences in how the attack feels for men and women and children. Firstly, panic attacks are seen more in women. They also seem to be more common, and more often end up in the use of medication to try to stop panic attacks. Women also seem to be in the habit of displaying more anxiety-avoidance - that is, they will try to prevent situations where they have experienced an attack before.
Anxiety avoidance often results in a phobia - an irrational fear of particular situations - and after awhile the mere thought of that situation is enough to trigger an attack. In children or young adults attacks can end up causing a drop in marks or grades at school, or even wagging school, substance abuse, keeping themselves from parents or other important people around them, and even depression or suicidal thoughts.
While symptoms in adolescents often mimic those experienced by adults, panic attacks are sometimes different for younger children. Teenagers often report panic attacks as like nightmares and are more dream-like than an extreme fear of going crazy or dying (which is usually what it feels like for adults), while young children often do not to have any cognitive or conscious thoughts at all.
8. Are panic attacks serious?
Yes - those suffering from panic attacks know they are real and also know they can be emotionally disabling. It is vital to try to stop panic attacks as they can have a significant lasting effect on those suffering from them - if left untreated they can develop into serious panic or emotional disorders, such as agoraphobia, which is the crippling fear of all social situations and interactions.
9. How do I stop panic attacks?
The most common treatment designed to stop panic attacks is a combination of cognitive-behavioural therapy and a prescription of anti-depressant medication.
CBT usually involves up to 20 visits with a mental health professional over a number of weeks, and it is designed to try and change the thought processes that cause your condition. The therapy will help you get an understanding and a sense of control over distorted emotions you have related to stressful situations, help you learn to recognize and replace panic-causing thoughts, show you some relaxation techniques and expose you to stress-management techniques, and will too involve some desensitisation and exposure therapy. While that is a really long, complicated title for the process, the therapy itself is very simple. The professional you work with will ask you to relax and then imagine the things that make you most fearful or apprehensive, from the least-stressful to the most-stressful. This therapy, with antidepressant medication - mostly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) - is the most known way to stop panic attacks. It might sound stupid, but trying to keep a healthy and active lifestyle is also very important. Many studies show the impact eating right and getting enough exercise can have on emotional disorders, including depression, anxiety and panic disorders. At the end of the day the most important thing is to remember the goal of treatment is to help you get better.
If you feel something is not working for you, be open and discuss your concerns with your doctor or mental health professional. They are there to help.
10. What else do I need to remember?
Importantly, know that you are not by yourself. A lot of people of all ages throughout the world suffer from the same thing. Panic attacks are serious, and they are frightening, but luckily you can get help. With the right treatment designed to stop panic attacks people who suffer from this problem can lead completely normal lives.
Also remember there is a wealth of information out there about the problem and how to stop panic attacks - check out your local library, join support groups on the internet, and most of all be honest with the people around you. Tell someone you trust, a friend or adult. Let them know what you are going through. Make sure you are honest with your doctor. It is their job to help you, so discuss with them about the problems you have. Doctors are trained in the medical field so take in as much of their knowledge as possible. They may also be able to show you a specialist in your area with a lot of expertise in the treatment of panic attacks.
For more information on how to stop panic attacks then please visit 1stoppanicattacks.com
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