As many as one in 10 people experience panic attacks at some point in their lives. While such occurrences may not be actually life-threatening, they can be very distressing and can greatly affect the quality of your life.
Some of the more common symptoms of panic attacks include shortness of breath, increased heart rate, chest pain, a feeling of dizziness or of being faint, hot or cold flashes, and an inexplicable sense of fear and dread. Panic attacks could last for only a few seconds, but more severe cases can last for several hours or even several days.
Below are some helpful tips on how you may be able to deal with panic attacks more effectively.
• If you sense that there is an impending panic attack, focus and breathing irregularly in a relaxed manner. Take care not to breathe too quickly, as this can actually cause your condition to worsen. You may also find it helpful to breathe into a brown paper bag or even just your cupped hands.
• Make some lifestyle changes. If you smoke, it would be best to cut down or quit entirely. It would also be a good idea to cut down on your alcohol consumption. You may also start up a regular exercise program after close consultation with your doctor. This will help you feel more asked as well as benefit your health in many other ways. You could also make several improvements to your diet, with eating regular meals and avoiding processed foods being some of the more effective things you can do.
• If you feel as if you’re in the grips of a panic attack, don’t try to fight it. This will only increase the surge of adrenaline through your body and make you feel much worse. Your best option at this point is to simply accept the fact that you are in the midst of a panic attack, and try to remember that it will pass shortly. It may be helpful to develop a few mental visualization and relaxation techniques that will help calm you down during this difficult period.
• Don’t keep your feelings bottled in. You may benefit from talking things over with a close friend or family member. In more extreme cases, you may need to consult with a professional.
• Finally, set aside certain periods during the day to calm yourself. This will give you a much-needed breathing period that will hopefully enable you to better deal with stress.
Panic attacks can actually come in many forms, and many people are often unaware that they are experiencing one. They can last for only a few seconds at a time, while more extreme cases can last for several days. A panic attack may also occur suddenly, or they may develop in intensity over several hours. The most common signs of an impending panic attack or an unexplainable feeling of discomfort or tightness in the body and head.
What panic attacks may come as the result of a period of great stress and discomfort, it can just as often occur without any apparent trigger. Work-related stress, interpersonal relationship problems, and problems at home are some of the more common causes. While these causes are obviously psychological, the results that they bring can be very real. Some of the most common physical symptoms that you may experience as a result of a panic attack are: headaches, hot flashes, nausea, and dizziness. More extreme panic attacks can even cause strokes, heart attacks, and unconsciousness. And then there are the behavioral symptoms. Many people who are experiencing a panic attack may lash out that other people verbally and even physically. People who have experience panic attacks often may even resort to hiding the condition from other people.
Although many of the causes of panic attacks are psychological, certain physical factors may have a role to play as well. Pain is one of the more recognizable physical triggers, what a panic attack simply being a symptom of a deeper underlying physical condition. Among some of the physical conditions that have been known to trigger a panic attack are: diabetes, hypertension, pregnancy, menopause, and even the onset of puberty. In addition, lack of exercise and poor nutrition may also cause you to be more prone to panic attacks. This condition may also come as a result of too much caffeine and alcohol, and drug use.
The first step in determining what the possible causes of your panic attacks are is to consult with a doctor who will make a thorough diagnosis of your condition, and pinpoint the symptoms that are present. He or she may also help you figure out what circumstances commonly trigger a panic attack, as well as help you find a way to deal with such events when they happen. Eventually, you may be able to deal with stressful events well enough to avoid experiencing a panic attack.
For too many people neglect important role that posture plays in their lives. After all, you can have poor posture for years and years at a time without incurring any ill effects. It is only when the years of improper sitting and standing result in noticeable discomfort that measures are taken to improve posture. By then of course, it is often too late to do anything about it. The most common effects of poor posture are back aches and neck pains, although it is now known to be a determinant factor in panic attacks as well. Interestingly enough, people who are prone to panic attacks and stress often adopt a poor posture, which can result in even more stress in a vicious cycle that seemingly has no end in sight.
Why is posture so important in reducing panic attacks? Posture actually has a significant effect on your breathing patterns, as well as the compression of the muscles, bones, and organs in the chest. Adopting a proper posture can improve your breathing patterns, and also cause a reduction in your anxiety levels.
Many people who are anxious or depressed often adopt a guarded position, as if they are subconsciously protecting themselves against danger. The arms may be crossed tightly against the chest, and the legs may be tucked closely against the body. Likewise, the shoulders and torso may be hunched over. This subconscious posture may actually cause a number of health issues, since it can put pressure against the heart and the lungs as well as interfere with proper circulation.
If you are aware that you are adopting an improper posture, it would be helpful to consciously correct your position. Over time, you will begin to adopt a proper posture automatically even under times of great stress. If necessary, you may want to ask your friends and family members to remind you of your improper posture so you can correct it immediately.
For many people who work in an office for long periods of time, the common culprits that may result in poor posture that eventually lead to increased panic attacks are lack of exercise and poor air circulation. These alone would the poor posture and generally an activity can greatly contribute to increased panic attacks. While sitting down behind a desk for long periods cannot be avoided, getting up occasionally to walk around may help improve your physical and mental state.
Breathing is of course an essential function of living, but few people know that it has an important role to play in managing panic attacks as well.
In times of great stress–such as the period leading to and during a panic attack–most people tend to neglect proper breathing. In some cases, the part of the nervous system that controls processes such as breathing and digestion may become affected by stress and tension. This can severely affect our regular breathing patterns.
While these changes may not be life-threatening in themselves, they may cause a number of the detrimental effects on the body’s natural chemistry, and may in turn affect overall health. Conversely, proper breathing may cause a decrease in heart rate and blood pressure, as well as slow down metabolism. Breathing correctly may also reduce muscle pain and enhance the circulation of the blood.
When you are under stress and breathing shallower, you may experience an imbalance in the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in your blood. What you have to do in these instances is slowly ease your way back into the proper breathing patterns. This isn’t as difficult as it may seem, and by constantly training yourself to breathe properly, you will develop this habit subconsciously and simply adopt it automatically under stress.
You may find it helpful to enroll in classes that offer instruction in the Alexander Technique and other breathing techniques. In addition, Tai Chi and yoga may also help you develop proper breathing, along with other physical and mental benefits.
If your work requires you to spend much of your time sitting behind a desk, it is important to make sure that you stand up and walk around from time to time. If you spend a lot of time sitting, remember to walk around as much and as often as possible. Sitting down for long periods may result in you developing poor posture, which can compress the organs in your chest and abdomen.
A lot of people seem to think that breathing deeply can be helpful in reducing the severity of a panic attack. While breathing does indeed have an important role to play, it is important to realize that taking too many breaths in a short period of time may actually cause you to feel more tense and anxious. Instead, you should focus on lengthening your exhalation in order to feel more relaxed. Lengthening your inhalation on the other hand will cause you to become more alert and stimulated. If you want to become more relaxed, inhale gently and exhale slowly, repeating the process as often as needed.
The causes of panic attacks are very far reaching and can be associated with many medical conditions, commonly exhibited in assorted drug withdrawals and attributed to an assortment of toxic effects on your body. Chronic stress is a main cause of panic attacks and a high stress level makes you much more prone to developing them. For some reason undergoing surgery or being under anesthesia can also lead to panic attacks and genetics play a huge factor in developing panic attacks. In fact you are eight more times likely to have panic attacks in your lifetime and suffer from them if a parent or other close family member also suffers or has in the past suffered from panic attacks.
Many people that seem to get them for no reason, they would like to know exactly why and according to one theory it is the body’s normal natural alarm system, which is the set of physical and mental and chemical mechanisms that allows a person to appropriately respond to a danger. Only in the case of panic attacks it tends to be triggered unneeded when there is no threat in sight, it is not, however known exactly why this happens or why some people are so much more susceptible to panic attacks than others. There is though to be an imbalance in the chemicals of the brain, or neurotransmitters, associated with panic attacks and often things like physical illness or certain medications can start the panic attack process.
Drinking large amount of alcohol or suddenly stopping the use of alcohol when you have been using for a long time can cause panic attacks as can large amounts of caffeine that tend to make you more nervous and jumpy. Smokers exhibit a much higher rate of panic attacks as the nicotine in the blood concentrates very highly and nicotine is a natural panic attack inducer. There is also increase in the frequency of panic attacks that can be seen in some women during or after pregnancy.
Serious medical conditions can sometimes have panic attacks associated with them such as heart problems like Mitral Valve Prolapse and seizure disorders like epilepsy. Asthma and respiratory problems like Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) also have a higher risk of panic attacks. For reasons probably associated with the shortness of breath that panic attacks bring and a real fear of dying from those symptoms that could just be a panic attack instead of life threatening problem. Depression also carries with it a huge risk of panic attacks or other disorders that stem from the panic attacks such as agoraphobia and panic disorder being the most common.
Many people will have intense anxiety between episodes and about 30% will use alcohol to deal with these attacks which can indeed make them worse. In the search for the causes of panic attacks there are many road blocks and closed doors but with any luck a person can at least get treatment and support, for right now there is no cure for panic attacks.
Panic attacks themselves are a malfunction of natures fight or flight response. A panic attack includes a sudden overwhelming surge of fear that comes with out any real warning or obvious reason as to why. It can not be explained to those that have never felt if, but it is far more than the average feelings of being anxious or stressed as most people experience throughout their lives. Around 1 in 75 people may get full blown panic disorder which are panic attacks more the 2-3 times per week without any known cause.
Again talking about the flight or fight response that occurs naturally to help keep us from harm, telling us to run away or prepare to defend ourselves from a situation of danger. These feelings in the right circumstances are vital to our survival but in the case of a panic attack they appear for no reason, rising out of no where to confuse a person tremendously as to what is happening. Panic attacks can even happen when you are asleep maybe having a vivid dream of being attacked or falling off a building.
The feelings of dread with shortness of breath along with all the other symptoms tend to pass in a few minutes but can last up to an hour as the body cannot sustain the response of flight or fight for any longer. However, subsequent attacks can follow and make it seem like one long continuous panic attack. This can be detrimental to ones well being and cause problems in sleep and daily functioning. Panic attacks in themselves are not dangerous to one’s physical health, but over time upset can occur such as stomach problems, migraines and a variety of disorders.
In worst case scenarios suffers of panic attacks can feel so overwhelmed that they turn to drugs, excessive alcohol or other harmful activities to help numb the intensity of their attacks. Also people that suffer from long term, reoccurring panic attacks or panic disorder are more that twice as likely to commit suicide. So to say panic attacks have no danger is a misnomer, it is all about how and whether a sufferer treats their symptoms. But many treatments but traditional and alternative are available and many therapists can help patients handle their symptoms.
Developing phobias are also common place with panic attacks, as the attacks are so terrifying that people avoid the things or places that tend to trigger them such as crowds, driving or other people. Fear and embarrassment go along hand and hand with panic attacks as well. Many people will stay away from people to avoid feeling ashamed and uncomfortable in case they may have a panic attack in their presence. The three main phobias the develop with panic attacks are agoraphobia, a fear or leaving home and being trapped in public places; social phobia, an extreme fear of people or public and a fear of looking stupid or foolish there; and simple specific phobia, which can be of anything.
We are taught that which does not kill us makes us stronger, but is that always the case? With out acknowledgement and treatment, panic attacks can lead to serious disorders and phobias as well as seriously compromise to ones life. Once you suffer a panic attack you want to do all possible to prevent another one from occurring. So you may avoid situations that in any way resemble the one you were in while the panic attack happened. This situational avoidance in very common in panic attacks sufferers especially with ones already experiencing the more severe from or panic disorder, which is basically long term, frequent panic attacks.
As an example, someone may have a panic attack while driving and begin to avoid driving, prolonged fear and avoidance of driving may result in an actual phobia of doing it. This can be said for many, many things that a panic attack sufferer may see as a cause of panic attacks and eventually their quality of life will greatly diminish. In the worst case scenario of phobias people develop full blown agoraphobia, a fear of going outdoors or leaving home all together. They develop so many phobias that they believe staying inside is the only option to avoid all situations that may provoke an attack.
Aside from phobias other side effects of panic attacks are: a greater propensity to abuse drugs and alcohol, less time spent on hobbies friendships, more time spent in the emergency room, increased suicidal feelings and even a greater risk of suicide, decreased physical and emotional health, being less financially dependent and having trouble being very far from home. All these problems and many more can be experienced by someone suffering from panic attacks and are especially severe if panic disorder comes into play.
The treatments for these side effects are varied and include medication and therapy along with exercise and changes in habits and thinking processes. The easiest way is to avoid them from ever happening by getting treatment for your panic attacks right away and not waiting for them to progress to states of phobia or terrible depression. Be wary of some medications not carefully prescribed to you by a knowledgeable doctor as they have been known to actually make panic attacks worse or cause other symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms in these medicines are known to be especially harsh.
Try natural calming exercises and natural sleep aids to sleep at night and try deep breathing and anti anxiety to go on through your day and control your panic attack symptoms. If you need to see a therapist do not be ashamed, talking to someone about your problem can help you to overcome it and a therapist can help you with things that have worked with other patients and slowly get you on to the road of healing yourself. Medications if properly prescribed can also work to alleviate those symptoms, so you do not get to the point of phobias or further disorders.
Panic attacks in young children especially go on underreported much longer than any other group in the public. This happens because adults have a propensity to not understand what a child is trying to tell them, or actually dismiss the symptoms as a part of growing up, or the child being over dramatic. Panic attacks in these youngster can stem from another numbers of mitigating factors. It could be problems at home or school, general worry about their circumstances and day-to-day issues, and much the same reasons older individuals get panic attacks. No matter there reasons, panic attacks if left untreated in young children not only prolongs the suffering of the child at the current point in his or her life but also greatly increases the risk that they will evolve along with this problem into adulthood.
Symptoms that your child is having panic attacks are complaints of dizziness and worry along with fears that they are going to die, or issues with the world appearing funny or “unreal”. Also issues with feeling like they are not able to breathe properly, rapid heart rate and shaking are all also symptoms of panic attacks. Although in general, older children or adolescents are much more prone to experience panic attacks, very young children, especially after experiencing traumatic events, can get this debilitating disorder. A family history of panic attacks and an unstable home life also greatly increase the risk of them developing panic attacks.
Children that undergo frequent attacks are very adversely effected in social and home lives as well as their studies and even developmental processes. Other conditions can stem from the underlying panic attacks and they can develop an assortment of phobias such as the commonly displayed agoraphobia that can caused a distressed child immense fear leaving his or her parents in regular activities such as going to school or other places, even friend’s houses that they use to enjoy going to. General Anxiety disorder can also develop, this disorder is much like it sounds a general fear and worry that live on even when the child is not experiencing the dreadful symptoms of a panic attack.
Teens or sometimes even older preteen children may become very depressed or even suicidal. They also may turn to illegal substances like drugs or alcohol to numb the outcomes of the panic attacks. Diagnosing young children can often be very difficult for a family physician as they may see the child’s behavior as acting out, or not be able to understand what the child is trying to tell them and incorrectly attributing another condition to blame. Embarrassment also exists and even young children and they may be confused and feel they are to blame for their panic attacks, children often blame themselves for a lot of what goes on around them.
With your alertness as a patient though, in working with doctors the symptoms of panic attacks can often be lessened or resolved by many means that do not include medication, such as relaxation therapy and deep breathing exercises and trying to avoid the things that trigger panic attacks as much as possible.
PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is an anxiety disorder that very commonly occurs after a person has been through a traumatic act or event. A traumatic event means that something horrible and alarming happened to or was witnessed by them and this can cause panic attacks and a variety of other symptoms directly after the event or even later in life. During the event people recall how they considered their’s or other’s lives to be in jeopardy and felt totally out of control and afraid of the circumstances they were put in.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was first realized and given a public name during the years of the Vietnam War. Many soldiers would come home with symptoms such as nightmares and panic attacks. Also many movies and books have been written or depicted on that time period and soldiers that we alike to ones in real life that suffered from the panic attacks and behavioral changes as caused by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The full spectrum of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is still being examined and many people never request treatment due to shame, guilt or just being unsure that there is anything wrong with them.
Other common life-threatening events can cause Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and panic attacks such as terrorist attacks, serious car or other type of accidents, natural disastrous occurrences like floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes and fires. Also physical or sexual assaults or attacks whether occurring while in childhood or in later life report for a great number of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and panic attack sufferers. These symptoms disrupt the lives of sufferers and make it very difficult to continue daily life. However people with panic attacks and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can both be helped with therapy directed for anxiety disorders that often involves psychotherapy and anti-anxiety medications.
Also shown to help are ideas like behavioral therapy and cognitive therapy as they can be effective in treating things like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or panic attacks as well as several other anxiety disorders. Behavioral therapy’s focus is on changing particular actions by using different techniques to decrease or help stop unwanted behavior, as an example, using training to reduce panic attacks and anxiety by deep breathing. As panic attacks as caused by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder involve hyperventilating the practice of taking slow deep breaths can physically calm the body down.
Cognitive therapy works in much the same manner, by teaching patients to have a different reaction to bodily sensations and frightful situations then they have been having. These old ways of dealing trigger panic attacks and continue the cycle of negative reenactments. Basically cognitive therapy can help someone suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder by changing their thinking patterns and awareness of their own actions. For an example, one would be someone who becomes dizzy learning that he is not going to die when having a panic attack but that it is just a little dizziness that he can handle.
The main panic attack symptoms are an overwhelming sense of fear or anxiety, along with physical reactions such as shortness of breath and hyperventilating. These symptoms can come on suddenly and often out of nowhere. They tend to peak in intensity in around 10 minutes of when they started and although many symptoms will fade away within 30 minutes, it may take up to an hour for all the symptoms to alleviate completely. It is also very possible that one could have what resembles a continuous attack, but is usually one panic attack after another in waves for an elongated period of time. Many of these panic attack symptoms especially the rapid heartbeat combined with the shortness of breath lead people to an emergency room each and every day thinking they are suffering from a heart attack.
Although in most cases a panic attack is nothing to worry about physically, it can take a toll on you in a lot of other ways such as emotionally. If you are experiencing things like a sense of dread or fear or death along with rapid breathing or hyperventilation, it may even feel like you are begin smothered. As well as lightheadedness, racing heartbeat and thoughts, chest pain, sweating, dizziness, trembling or shaking, a choking feeling, nausea, numbness over your body, chills and or hot flashes, or feelings of detachment or unreality you are having panic attacks. You need to seek some type of help for these attacks whether it is an over the counter herbal calming supplement or a doctor’s visit is up to you, but the symptoms rarely get better with no sort of help.
A doctor’s visit may be a good idea though as some panic attacks can be associated a variety of medical conditions such as hyperthyroidism or even some medications such as ones you may be taking for a heart condition. Panic attacks can also come on however, for no rhyme or reason and be triggered by things as simple as a large crowd or busy restaurant or stadium. Sometimes this leads to people with panic attacks avoiding those certain places or situations that they fear that lead to panic attacks and although this sounds like good advice is can lead to a pattern of avoidance and can develop into agoraphobia.
Also some, but not everyone, who experiences many panic attacks, may develop panic disorder. This disorder involving panic attacks is diagnosed if an individual has at least two unprovoked panic attacks a week. And also have fear or worry of more panic attacks on a daily basis and start to fear and avoid situations that may trigger one. It is basically a long term case of chronic panic attacks and all that goes with them. Other anxiety related and even physical conditions can eventually develop if the escalating panic attacks are not somehow lessened and people can loose friends and loved ones to this disorder. So seek treatment for your panic attacks and try deep breathing to help control them.
