Signs and Symptoms

A panic attack can happen anytime, but it usually happens when you are away from home. You may be at a store shopping, at work preparing for a presentation, in a class, driving, walking down the street or even during asleep.

The signs and symptoms develop quickly and usually arrive at its peak in 10 minutes. The majority of panic attacks do not last for more than 30 minutes and it rarely lasts for more than an hour.

A person during an attack shows these signs and symptoms:

• Increased heartbeat or palpitation
• Chest pain
• Hyperventilation or shortness of breath
• Stomach churning, upset stomach
• Trembling and shaking
• Muscle tension
• Sweating
• Dizziness and light-headedness
• Hot or cold flashes
• Tingling sensation or numbness
• Fear of dying, going crazy or losing control
• Feeling detached from the surroundings

Panic Disorder

A panic attack may happen just once without any problem or complication. And there is almost no reason to be concerned if you have one or two episodes. But those who have experienced several episodes usually develop panic disorder.

Recurring panic attacks along with persistent anxiety for future attacks and major changes in behavior can be considered as panic disorder. There are two symptoms of panic disorder: (1) phobic avoidance and (2) anticipatory anxiety.

Phobic avoidance – When you begin to avoid certain things or situations based on the belief that it would trigger another attack. It can also be avoiding situations that have caused the previous attack. You may also avoid places or situations where escape is difficult and help is unavailable, like riding an elevator or an airplane. Extreme case of phobic avoidance may lead to agoraphobia.

Anticipatory anxiety – The “fear of fear” or the fear of having future panic attacks. The person manifesting this symptom is usually tensed and anxious. When ignored, the condition can be disabling.

Panic disorder with agoraphobia

Agoraphobia is traditionally believed as fear of open places or public places, thus, it literally means “fear of the marketplace.” However, now it is believed that agoraphobia is fear of experiencing panic attack in a place where help is difficult or where escape would be difficult.

People with agoraphobia tend to avoid the following situations or activities:

• Being away from home

• Driving

• Confined places where there is a possibility of being trapped (elevator, theaters, public transportation, stores)

• Going out with “unsafe” person or someone he or she is not comfortable being with.

• Places where it would be embarrassing to have a panic attack like parties and other social gatherings.

In severe cases, people with agoraphobia see their home as the only safe place.

Several treatments are proven very effective in stopping anxiety attacks. Let us look at some of the more popular ones:

Breathing technique

Since children are more fragile, they more vulnerable to such attacks and the effects of these attacks may be more severe than to adults. But what causes anxiety attacks? Here are some of the most common reasons of anxiety attacks:

School Phobia and Separation Anxiety
When a child reaches a certain age, he or she develops school phobia. The exact reason for this is still unknown, but what happens is, the child becomes excessively afraid of going to school. A child manifests this fear by creating reasons and complaining ailments such as toothaches, headache, and stomach cramps to keep him or her from going to school. School phobia is often linked to separation anxiety but the latter can manifest to situations other than in school (e.g. being with a group of people or joining other family for the weekend).

Again, the exact reason for this is unknown. Separation anxiety is excessive fear of being away from someone whom the child is comfortable being with. Tale-told signs of separation anxiety are similar to school phobia.

Stress
Stress is linked to anxiety attacks. It may be a result of heavy responsibilities at home and in school, unfinished tasks, physical and psychological abuse, a school bully, environment that is unfit for the child’s age, violence, etc.

Change in lifestyle
A child creates friends in school and in the neighborhood. These friends would make him or her feel comfortable and accepted. So when the family moves to another place or to a different school, a child loses the friend and comfort he or she has established and forces him or her to start all over again. If the child cannot cope with this stressful situation, it can lead to episodes of anxiety attack.

Indirect Reasons
In many cases, anxiety attacks just come out of the blue, or happen without any logical, clear or apparent reason. It may occur while the child is relaxed during the day and even while asleep. This may only happen only once. Perhaps, an anxiety attack is brought about by unresolved internal issues, which are not directly connected with the trigger. For example, a child who experiences a death of a loved one may panic whenever a certain, almost similar situation happens. The traumatic experience that he or she went through in the past which are not processed properly can come out, in this case through an attack.

A child may also show episodes of anxiety attacks because the problem at hand reminded him or her about family conflicts. Fighting in the family as well as divorce of parents may be traumatic to a child that when witnessing a similar situation, he or she goes into a panic.

Take note that there is no single reason (and it takes several factors) for a child to have an anxiety attack, but whatever it is, what’s important is how do deal with it properly.

So whenever somebody had an attack, it is vital that you know what to do. Understand what a panic attack is. A panic attack is a unexpected surge of overpowering fear or anxiety. It is manifested by many signs and symptoms.

During an attack, somebody experiences increased heartbeat or palpitation, chest agony, hyperventilation or difficulty breathing, stomach churning, upset stomach, quivering and shaking, muscle tension, sweating, dizziness and light-headedness, hot flashes, shivering sensation or insensibility, fear of dying, going silly or losing control and feeling detached from the environment. Seek for emergency medical help. It is vital to call for a health pro particularly if an individual experiences an attack for the 1st time.

Identify the reason behind the symptoms. The signs and symptoms of panic attack are like medical problems. Hyperventilation or lack of breath could be a sign of asthma.

Chest discomfort, increased heartbeat or palpitation and sweating could be a heart attack. Talk to the person and identify if the symptoms spring from other conditions. When unsure, a health pro will be a great help. While waiting for help, find the cause of attack. Once it is established that the reason for the symptoms is truly a panic attack, find the source of the panic and take the person away from it. Don’t make a presumption about what the person wants. Someone who is a victim of the attack may know precisely what to do or has medications that may get him thru the attack, so it’s best to ask. Don’t surprise the patient. Be predicted with your movements. Don’t grab, hold or restrain. Keep him calm and stay calm yourself. Reassure the person that everything is going to be fine but don’t dismiss his fear by exclaiming “it’s all in your mind” or “don’t Stress about it” or “you are overreacting.” Take note that the fear is extraordinarily real to the victim so it dismissing the fear has no effect or can even make the problem worse. Help the patient to manage his respiring.

Many patients breathe heavily during an attack ; others hold their breath. Using deep respiring technique is a particularly effective way to purge the indicators of a panic attack as well as calm the patient down. Guide the person and let him know to breathe in for three slow counts. Then ask him to hold his breath for 3 slow counts and breathe out for another three slow counts. Do this many times till the person is calm. You may recommendation him to respire into a paper carrier bag. This way, he can re-breathe his carbon-dioxide. CO2 helps correct the blood acid level that had been annoyed by unnecessary respiring. But use caution when using paper bags since they may cause another fear. Stay with the person thru his trial. Never leave an individual particularly if he is having problems in breathing. Bide your time. They may act rude or unfriendly but recall that it is non permanent and will return to ordinary as fast as the attack is over. Don’t forget that for the patient, the thoughts are real. Reassure him the help is on the way. Never permit the patient to do stuff which will put his life in peril.

Valium and anti-depression treatments ) are designed to cure significant cases of psychological defects. At last , the patients will not have only 1 condition but 2 major conditions. The bonus? The obsession adds and irritates the upsetting experiences accompanying panic attacks. This is the common experience of folks that rely too much on laboratory-produced substances. Except for drug dependence, panic attack medications can also trigger complications at varying degrees. Standard examples of complications are slower reflexes, light headedness, shortage of energy, revulsion, wooziness, upset stomach, blurry vision, disorientation, memory loss, misunderstanding, diminished judgment, reduced brain activity, slurred speech and depression.

Outside the common side effects, panic attack medications can also pose added hazards overtime particularly when certain mixes of medications are used. Another problem that could be experienced are the paradoxical effects they could elicit.

Paradoxical effects include those conditions that are happy by the use of particular medications which include irritation and anxiety at the less significant levels, and mania, aggression and hallucination at the more complicated stages. Further, panic attack medications come with big price tagsnot actually the most effective way of exacerbating your already major behavioral disorder. However, notwithstanding all of the negativities surrounding panic attack medications, their effects shouldn’t be counted as wholly pointless or deadly. They were made to provide symptom relief and possible cure to begin with.

So , not all effects are bad. Nonetheless, it’s got to be recalled that relief from the symptoms shouldn’t be wholly conditional on their effects. They must only be used when very obligatory.

Otherwise, these medications, which are by nature foreign chemicals, might destroy something in you that is beyond repairable. The reality is, there are a number of ways to heal yourself from panic attacks except for depending on medications to offer you the solution. Behavioral treatments as well as cognitive approaches are among the best choices to drugs.

Group and individual cures are also good options. But in spite of all of the guarantees of these cures and treatments, if the person doesn’t have the resolution to take himself out of the grip of panic attacks, all of these may prove pointless. Over time, medical execs and patients alike showed that only the person, the patient of panic attacks, could find the solution to his status.

The chances of having an attack are even greater when a panic-prone person receives unnecessary Stress such as additional tasks at work or additional responsibility at home. Instead of performing normally under regular circumstance, the additional load can put more pressure that can lead to more stress which can be a catalyst for an attack.

What is panic disorder?

It is commonly believed that panic attacks happen out of the blue, without any reason. It can happen to anyone at any point in their life. Many people experience one episode of panic attack. However, others go on to suffer from panic disorder. Panic disorder is characterized by several episodes of panic attacks related to past traumatic experiences, existing stress (mentioned above) or something else.

Many attacks last for not more than 30 minutes but the effects of panic disorder can leave lasting effects. People suffering from panic disorder experience emotional stress and excessive fear due to the memory of past attacks. This negative memory has a negative impact to self-confidence and self-esteem, which can lead to the disruption of everyday activities and normal living. While the causes of panic disorder vary from person to person, all conditions lead to these symptoms:

The build up of stress from anxiety can become a major problem and there are various factors that may contribute to this.These mainly occur through daily living.

It is definable thru somebody’s life as to how they can cope with stress and anxiety. Medical methods as well as natural methods are the primary ways to manage stress and anxiety.

Relieving Stress with the Medical Method

Anxiety and stress may be thrown out thru prescribed tablets from your doctor or through therapy sessions to discover the simplest method to relieve stress and anxiety. Lots of patients discover that mixes of these are the simplest way to control stress and anxiety.

However, using medication can be seen as a detrimental way to relieve stress and anxiety as it does not resolve the cause of the problem; it merely addresses the symptoms of stress and anxiety.

The difficulty with the medical strategy to control stress is that there’s a possibility that dependencies on the drug may happen This poses more problems as you attempt and manage stress.

Medical techniques are thus helpful in controlling the outward signs. Although however they may lead to you more long-term problems.

The Natural Method Managing of Dealing with Stress and Anxiety

Natural paths to manage stress and anxiety don’t involve the use of medicine. Alternatives to medical strategies will include acupuncture, massage and aromatherapy. They are an effective route to manage stress and anxiety because they act as a therapeutic method.

How to know when you’re feeling stressed

One successful method to manage stress and anxiety is through acknowledging what stress is, what it feels like for you and in what circumstances these feelings occur. When you are able to work out the things that make you stressed you will begin to feel more relaxed, feeling that you are in control of yourself.

Many people manage stress and anxiety through planning their days. Contingency plans so help thru knowing what can be expected across the day.