Live Life Team
Anxiety and panic is very common when one is in a stressful or dangerous situation. This is a very natural response in such cases. People suffering with panic disorder get excited and panic without any apparent reason. Severe anxiety can be the result of generalised anxiety disorder, post- traumatic stress disorder and phobias. A person getting a panic attack experiences severe psychological and physical symptoms. The physical symptoms include sweating, shivering, nausea and irregular heart beat. A panic attack does not cause any harm to body but may be very severe and frightening. People suffering from panic disorder get a panic attack regularly without any obvious reasons. The number of attacks depends on the condition. A person may suffer one to two attacks in a month or several attacks in a week. This condition is very unpredictable. The people suffering from such attacks always feel concerned and anxious about their next attack.
Symptoms
Some of the symptoms of panic disorder are listed below
-irregular heart beat
-shivering
-sweating
-chills
-difficulty in breathing
-hot flushes
-chest pain
-giddiness
-nausea
-choking sensation
-dry mouth
-ringing sound in the ear
-fear of death
-lack of sensation in body parts
A panic attack can be very severe and frightening. It may give a person the feeling of having a heart attack. A very fast heart beat and taking short breath shows that it is a panic disorder and not a heart attack. People who already have suffered with a panic disorder learn to control the symptoms. A panic attack lasts for 5 to 30 minutes. The first 10 minutes of attack is very severe. The panic attacks tend to reoccur once or twice in a week or month. Some people may experience several attacks during a week. These attacks are very unpredictable. This makes a person worried and stressed about the next attack. Depersonalisation is a feeling of detachment which happens due to panic dirorder.The symptoms for this condition is so severe that the person feels detached from the situation.
Causes
Some psychological and physical factors are responsible for panic disorder. Some of then are listed below
-Traumatic and stressful experiences
-if a family member has panic disorder
-Neurotransmitters
An imbalance of neurotransmitters,(a chemical released in brain) increases risk of developing panic disorder.
-Fight or flight reflex
This reflex protects the body from stressful and frightening situation. This reflex is triggered abnormally for a person having panic disorder.
Treatment
The number of panic attacks can be reduced and the symptoms can be eased with the help of treatment. Panic disorder can be treated using physiological therapy or by medication. A person may require any one way of treatment or combination of both. This depends on the condition of that person. Some of the treatments are listed below
Cognitive behavioural therapy
This is one of the most effective ways of treating panic disorder.
Self-help techniques
Some of the self help techniques are
– Creative visualisation
Try to visualise a situation that gives you peace of mind. In this way distract you from negative thoughts and ease symptoms of panic.
-You should not try to fight the situation as it may worsen the situation. –
-Relaxation
-Exercise
Antidepressant medication
Most of the cases of panic disorder can be prevented using antidepressant medicines.
