A panic attack is a suddenly appearing spasm of fear which usually doesn't last more than 30 minutes. Women develop panic attacks about twice as much as men. An affected person perceives a whole series of physical symptoms which are felt by them as life-threatening. Therefore, afflicted persons develop a strong fear of the appearance of the panic attacks and they avoid places and situations in which they fear to panic.
Panic attacks become apparent in 4 areas. If you are affected, you might feel symptoms like these:
1. In the physical area
The blood pressure rises, the breathing gets faster. Some people get weak in the knees, feel a tingling sensation in the legs. Everything becomes blurred to them, they get dizzy and feel nauseated. They feel as if they have a lump in the throat and chest tightness. Diarrhea and urinary urgency could occur. Other symptoms: rapid heartbeat, heart consciousness or irregular heartbeat, trembling, dryness of the mouth, breathing trouble, a feeling of suffocation, bodily pain, stomach-ache, hot flashes or shivers, deafness or an overall tingling sensation.
2. In the emotional area
Uneasiness, a feeling of powerlessness, numbness, sentiments of unreality, fear to lose control, fear to get unconscious or to go insane, fear to suffer a heart attack or to die.
3. In the mental area
Affected people can not concentrate anymore and mull over things like: "it would be awful if... happened. Certainly I will fall, I will get dizzy, I will get a heart attack..."
4. In the behavior area
Afflicted people avoid specific places or go there only in company. They will hurry away from particular situations, they may drink alcohol to gather courage or take tranquilizer.
Causes of panic attacks
Different causes can hide behind anxiety attacks:
Stress situation:
People who suffer from panic or anxiety attacks are often in a dilemma or in an emergency situation for which they find no solution. This could be for instance financial distress, a separation, a bereavement, a dismissal or a grave chronic disease of a family member. Affected persons have a hyperactive nervous system. They react to neural stimuli much more intense than others and get used to new stimuli more slowly than others.
Personality traits:
Afflicted persons often demand from themselves to do everything perfect and they feel responsible for everyone and everything. it is difficult for them to express anger and they are not able to set limits.
Physical illnesses:
Thyroid dysfunction, lack of Vitamin B 1, liver diseases, a disturbance of the calcium balance or a virus infection can, under certain circumstances, trigger a state of anxiety. However, blood sugar or low blood pressure can also lead to dizziness, numbness and sudden faintness. These symptoms could then be misinterpreted. Sometimes, fears can occur in connection with hormonal changes in the menopause. Therefore, it would be sensible to consult your doctor or a specialist.
Drugs:
There is a range of drugs which can cause anxiety during the intake of pills or after the discontinue, for example thyroid medication, antidepressants, antihistamines, certain cold remedies, sleeping pills, cardiovascular medicines, tranquilizer and drugs like cocaine or hallucinogens.
Psychic illnesses:
Anxiety can also arise in connection with psychoses, depressions and obsessive-compulsive disorders.
The course of panic attacks
1. In certain situations, afflicted persons experience unusual physical conditions like irregular heartbeat, dizzy spells or attacks of sweat. This happens mostly in a phase of physical and/or mental loading. They classify these symptoms as life-endangering and react panic-stricken. Most often this happens at places where the person apparently has no control over the situation, as for example at the cinema, in a traffic jam, in the waiting line, at the hairdresser, in the church, in a department store full of people or at events.
2. From then on, the affected persons are so deeply insecure by their physical reaction that they never want to go through this experience again. They begin to avoid the particular situation which they think is responsible for the first panic attack. They relive this first attack over and over again and generate, merely through imagination, a similar reaction in the body. The fear of the fear arises. Now the affected people will make use of several means to keep up their daily routine. They take tranquilizer, go out only in company, start drinking. They flee from the situations in which their symptoms become apparent and withdraw from the environment.
3. They start to believe that they suffer from a grave illness, for instance a heart weakness, an epileptic disorder, insanity or even a brain tumour.
Treatment and therapy
These are applied therapies to cure panic and anxiety attacks:
- Behavioral therapy, particularly the exposure therapy
- Relaxation therapy
- Cognitive behavioral therapy
- Psychotherapy
- Drugs
- Psychoanalysis
- Psychodynamic therapies
- Linden Therapy
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