A panic attack is an intense and sudden feeling of fear and anxiety. It can have many physical symptoms such as rapid heart beat, trembling, rapid shallow breathing, pins and needles in the arms and feeling faint or dizzy. Many people who have a panic attack fear that they will have a heart attack, collapse or die. These attacks are not harmful and usually go away between five minutes and half an hour.
The body has an automatic fear response that prepares you to either cope with or run away from danger. A panic attack results when this 'fight or flight' response either overreacts or becomes activated when it is not needed at all. During a panic attack, your nervous system reacts as if you are facing a life-threatening situation, even though you may not be in danger. This response causes alarming physical symptoms and feelings.
Panic disorder is diagnosed when you have repeated panic attacks, you worry about having another attack, and you avoid places that you think may cause one. It is possible to have panic attacks without developing panic disorder, and panic attacks can occur with other anxiety disorders.
What causes Panic Attacks and Panic Disorder?
Although the exact causes of panic attacks and panic disorder are still not clear, several factors may be responsible. These include an imbalance of brain chemicals or neurotransmitters, a family history of panic disorder, patterns of thinking that increase your stress or anxiety, and unresolved psychological issues. Panic attacks sometimes occur as a result of a stressful situation or they can happen with no obvious trigger.
Panic attacks can also be caused or triggered by:
- Certain medications (such as those used to treat asthma and heart conditions).
- Too much nicotine or too much caffeine.
- Alcohol abuse.
- The use of drugs such as methamphetamines, marijuana, cocaine, or lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD).
- A health condition such as an overactive thyroid (hyper thyroidism).
What are the Symptoms?
During a panic attack, you may have a feeling of intense fear, terror, or anxiety along with difficulty breathing or rapid breathing as you begin to hyperventilate, chest pain or tightness, a racing or irregular heartbeat, dizziness, sweating, and shaking.
If you have repeated, unexpected panic attacks and find yourself changing your behavior because you are afraid of having another attack, you may have panic disorder. If you avoid public places because you are afraid that they may cause you to have a panic attack or that it will be difficult to escape if you do, this could be a symptom of agoraphobia, a disorder in which you fear and avoid public places or situations from which escape can be difficult.
Cultural factors may play a role in the symptoms of panic disorder. African Americans with panic disorder frequently report episodes of feeling that they can't move during sleep (sleep paralysis). In Hispanic cultures, "ataque de nervios" is an anxiety syndrome that has symptoms similar to panic disorder.
Treatment
Treatments for panic attacks and panic disorder are very effective and include counselling and medications. These treatments can help minimise or even eliminate panic attacks and can help decrease the fear of future attacks. Early diagnosis and treatment of panic attacks is very important and can prevent other conditions associated with panic disorder, such as depression, anxiety disorders, and substance abuse. Most people with a panic disorder get better with treatment and are able to continue a normal lifestyle, although relapse can occur, especially if treatment is stopped too soon.
Diversion Tactics
Here are a few examples of diversion tactics to use while having an attack. Practice them, they really work!
- Splash your face with cold water - this produces the dive reflex and causes your brain to send messages to your body to slow down
- Distraction - Count down from 100 as fast as you can, repeat over and over. Do maths problems or anything else that occupies your mind
- Listen to your favourite music loudly and sing along to it
- Say to yourself - this has never hurt me, it has never hurt anyone else and it never will. I know what it is and it means nothing - disempower the attack
- Tell yourself that what you are feeling are sensations; nothing more and that sensations never hurt anyone
- Watch a funny video on TV, laugh out loud
- Don't look at yourself in the mirror
- Keep some apples in the fridge. Eat one, then another if you wish
- Gently slap your cheeks and dance around - confuse your thoughts to distract them
- In the night, get out of bed, turn on the TV, get a drink, eat an apple and keep moving
- Talk to someone or phone someone - don't discuss your anxiety
- Do something physical if you can
- Do not sit down! Keep moving
Do any amount of these diversion tactics simultaneously if possible.
Facts about Panic Attacks
Panic attacks are very common. As much as 35% of the general population has a panic attack in the space of a year. Women have panic attacks more often than men, and women who have recently gone through the menopause can be even more likely to have panic attacks.
Around 2% of the general population develops panic disorder at some point in their lives, and some people are more likely than others to develop the condition. It may be passed down through families; your risk of having panic disorder is higher if you had a parent with panic disorder, especially if your parent also had depression or bipolar disorder. It is twice as common in women as in men and may be associated with the menstrual cycle.
http://www.survivormatters.co.nr/
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