Panic Attacks Help – Information
Panic attacks are real and they do account for over 20% of all emergency room visits. If you have never had one yourself it is difficult to describe and from the outside looking in they are hard to believe. But for the person having one, it is all too real.
It was in 1980 when the medical community gave this episode the name “Panic Attack.” Panic attacks are part of the anxiety family and are treated by most physicians with the same pharmaceuticals that they use for anxiety.
Panic Attacks and anxiety in general is like a boiling over effect. The onset of an attack usually starts with a feeling of uneasiness. You just don’t feel normal and you become sensitive to your environment. Your sense of smell, taste, touch, sound, and sight is heightened as your heart begins to race. Your attack is coming on now; you feel it and you can’t do anything about it. As the attack begins you probably have one or more of the following feelings:
• A sense of impending death
• Sweating
• Shortness of Breath
• Tightness in your throat
• Hyperventilation
• Faintness Trembling Chills
• Dizziness
• Hot Flashes
• Nausea
• Headache
• Chest Pain
• Abdominal Cramping
At the end of your attack you are wiped out. You feel fatigue and worn out but most of all you are worried about going through another one at any time. Your behavior at home begins to change as well as work or with your family. You probably think you are going crazy or having a heart attack.
Treatments for panic attacks vary from doctor to doctor. However, most medications used act on the central nervous system to reduce anxiety and related symptoms.
Anti-anxiety medications, antidepressants, and cognitive behavioral therapy (working with a therapist) have been successfully used to treat panic disorders. The following medication classes have been usefull:
• Benzodiazepines: anti-anxiety medications that include aprolazam (Xanax). These drugs are very easy to become dependent on or addicted to in this class of medications. Usually used only on a temporary basis.
• Antidepressants: known as SSRI’s (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) are the most commonly used medications for panic disorder. They include fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), paroxetine (Paxil), fluvoxamine (Luvox), cetalopram (Celexa), and escitalopram (Lexapro).
• Monoaxmine oxidase inhibitors (MAOI’s): such as phnelzine (Nardil) tranylcypramine (Parnate), and isocarboxazid (Marplan) are only used when none of the other drugs work. MAOI’s are the most effective medications for panic disorder, but they have serious side effects and they can interact with other drugs and foods.
Behavioral treatment appears to have long-lasting benefits.
Regular exercise, adequate sleep, and regularly scheduled meals may help reduce the frequency of the attacks. Reduce or avoid the use of caffeine and other stimulants.
Some doctors may prescribe cognitive-behavioral therapy. Usually this is for those patients that have had some sort of trauma in their life that may be triggering the attacks. This therapy may also include mental imagery and relaxation techniques. Behavioral therapy appears to have long lasting results.
Genetics may play a role in the cause of panic attacks, however the exact cause is unknown. It is known that panic disorders are twice as common in women as in men. The onset of symptoms usually begins after the age of 25 with symptoms being very rare in children.
A full battery of test is run mainly to rule out any other potential illness. If you have had an attack or have come close to one be sure and see your physician as soon as possible. Treatments are available and with the proper diagnosis you should be able to get your life back to normal.
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Anxiety Disorders Symptoms
When someone is suffering from a panic attack, they are feeling extreme anxiety about something. The onset of it is sudden and the symptoms of a panic attack are immense. Some panic attack sufferers believe that they are having a heart attack or that the feelings they are experience will lead to a heart attack. They also might be thinking that they are dieing. While people do not typically die from panic attacks, the symptoms are intense.
Panic attack symptoms can appear suddenly without any real cause. Its symptoms can be felt within the body as it reacts to an uncontrollable fear like pounding or racing heart, chest pains or difficulty breathing, stomach upset or nausea, dizziness, lightheadedness, tingling or numbness in the hands, hot flashes or chills. The symptoms can also be felt within the mind by experiencing a dreamlike sensation, the feeling of terror, a need to escape, the fear of loosing control or doing something embarrassing or the fear of dieing.
A key symptom of a panic disorder is the fear of having future panic attacks. Most people who have had one panic attack are likely to have others. The fear of experiencing an attack again can cause the person to avoid places and situations where an attack has occurred in the past or where they believe an attack may occur. They might develop a phobia about these situations. Panic attacks are different from other types of anxiety because they can happens so suddenly and unexpected. They can occur without being provoked and are often times disabling. The panic attacks themselves can be a symptom of an anxiety disorder. Once in a pattern of anxiety and avoidance, the person is said to have a panic disorder. A Panic disorder can have a serious impact on an individual’s daily life unless the person receives effective treatment. Panic attacks are serious health problems that 1.7% or 3 million of adult Americans suffer from at some point in their lives. The peak age at which an individual might experience their first panic attack is between the ages of 15 and 19.
A panic attack will typically lasts for several minutes and is one of the most distressing conditions that a person can experience. Since its symptoms can closely mimic those of a heart attack, the individual fears the attack itself by believing what is happening to their bodies will lead to death. Panic attacks can take place while an individual is sleeping as well. These are nocturnal panic attacks but they occur far less often than panic attacks during the day. 40%-70% of individuals who suffer from daytime panic attacks will also suffer from nocturnal panic attacks. These attacks tend to cause sufferers to wake suddenly from sleep in a state of sudden anxiety through no apparent cause and can have all the other symptoms of a panic attack. Although nocturnal panic attacks tend to last less than 10 minutes, the time that it takes to fully calm down after such an experience can be much longer.
While typically, individuals tend to suffer in certain different ways when it comes to panic attacks, the symptoms for all individuals fall into the dame state of mind; an uncontrollable fear.
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Panic Attacks Help
Panic attack sufferers are thoroughly familiar with the shortness of breath, pounding heart, dizziness, and stomach issues that are associated with their anxiety. What an outsider might not understand is that panic attacks are a very private thing. The person who is suffering from them is typically worried about an irrational fear. In the depths of their soul they might know it is irrational but, that does not excuse them in fearing it. They typically feel shame about how far their fear has gone and how much it has affected their life. Because of this, a lot of panic attack sufferers do not seek help. Those who do seek help can find it in a variety of ways.
Most specialists agree that a combination of cognitive and behavioral therapies is the best kind of help for panic disorders. A lot of the times a person can find the help they need by simply being informed and understanding what a panic disorder is. These cognitive restructuring changes the way that person it thinking; they are not going crazy. They are not having a heart attack. And they are not going to die from a panic attack. Cognitive therapies help sufferers to replace their negative thoughts with more positive and realistic thoughts.
Behavioral therapies focus on exposure to the actual physical sensations that someone experiences during a panic attack. Most people are not afraid of the experience or object, they are afraid of the attack itself. For instance they are not afraid of the people in a social setting, they are afraid of having a panic attack in a social setting. Behavioral therapies consists of exposing a panic attack sufferers to the symptoms of the attack in a controlled setting and allowing them to see that symptoms like an elevated heart rate or hot flashes do not always erupt into a full blown panic attack. Behavioral therapies also include allowing the sufferer to go through small manageable steps of the action they are afraid of. Again, using social settings as an example, these practices entail maybe just getting in the car to go to a party. This allows the person to just deal with the feelings and emotions of just being in the car. They soon learn to not focus on the situation that lies ahead or the consequences of their fear. They soon learn that sitting in the car will not produce a panic attack. Everyone goes through these steps at their own pace. One sufferer might need to arrive at a social setting, stay for ten minutes then leave a dozen times before they show progress. Another person might be able to force themselves through the situation with the heart palpitations and other symptoms to learn that they were able to get through the event and the next one will be easier.
Panic attack sufferers might also find the help that they need through medication. Medication is typically used to control the symptoms of panic attacks. Medications can also reduce the number of panic attacks as well as their severity. Plus, they will reduce the fear and anxiety associated with having another attack. Relaxation techniques can also help someone deal with an attack. Some relaxation techniques include breathing exercises as well as positive visualization. Also, a support group with other people who suffer from panic attacks can be helpful.
Although panic attacks can be a very private thing, it does affect a large number of people. With so many afflicted by it, a sufferer is going to have an easier time finding the help that they need.
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Panic Attack Medications – Proceed With Caution
Panic attacks can be a debilitating affliction that causes the individual that is suffering from it great stress and discomfort. They are seen in someone with a panic disorder but luckily can be treated through the use of therapy and medication. Therapy focuses on changing certain thinking and behavior patterns. Typically when these two therapies are combined, relapses of panic attacks occur far less frequently than when only one treatment is used. Medication can aid the rehabilitation efforts.
Several different types of medications can be used to treat panic attacks or to control the symptoms of panic attacks. Medications can also reduce the number and severity of panic attacks plus, reduce the anxiety of having another attack. There are several effective medications that will treat panic attacks like Prozac, Zoloft or Paxil which are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI). SSRI are antidepressants and commonly prescribed drugs to treat depression. These types of medications affect chemicals known as neurotransmitters that nerves in the brain use to send messages to one another. Neurotransmitters are released by one nerve and taken up by other nerves. The same nerves that released them will “reuptake” the neurotransmitters that are not taken up by other nerves. SSRI’s inhibit the reuptake of serotonin, an action which allows more serotonin to be available to be taken up by other nerves. Before SSRIs were available, medications from the group known as the tricyclic anti-depressants (TCAs) such as Tofranil, Norpramin, or Anafranil were often used to treat panic disorder. Although TCAs can equally as effective in treating panic attacks as SSRIs, SSRI’s have been proven to be safer and better tolerated in individuals. TCAs have been used less often as a result, although when used in the right individual with close monitoring, these medications can be an effective treatment for panic disorders. But like most medications, there is the risk of side effects which can vary from minor to life-threatening in some cases. So, it is important to work closely with the prescribing doctor to decide whether treatment with medications is an appropriate intervention and if so, which medication should be administered. Pregnant women should not be treated with these kinds of medications due to the possible risks to the fetus.
Several medications from the benzodiazepine families are also approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat panic attacks or panic disorders. These medications include Xanax, Valium, Ativan, or Klonopin. These medications are effective in reducing anxiety and nervous tension. They are sometimes prescribed to be taken as needed for immediate relief to symptoms unlike SSRI’s which have to be taken every day.
Panic disorder symptoms should start to improve within a few weeks after beginning medications. If there is not improvement within 6 to 8 weeks, a higher dose or another medicine may be prescribed by the doctor. Most medications that are used to treat panic attacks need to be continued for a year or longer. After this time period they might be decreased gradually over a period of several weeks. Sometimes after the medications have been decreased, the individual might experience panic attacks again. In that case the medication might have to be continued for at least a few more months. Some individuals might need to stay on medications for a long time to keep symptoms under control.
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Panic Attacks Help – What is Panic Disorder?
A panic attack is the sudden onset of intense anxiety, characterized by feelings of intense fear and apprehension and accompanied by heart palpitations, shortness of breath, sweating, trembling plus several other symptoms. It is not understood what the cause of panic attacks is but several things could play a role including a combination of factors like biological and environmental.
Experts have looked at genetics for a possible cause for panic attacks in some people. In the same way that hair or eye color is passed down by one or both parents, a panic disorder has also been shown to run in families. It might be that a person is predisposed to having these attacks. Some panic attack sufferers have been shown to have a family member who has or had a panic disorder or some other emotional disorder like depression.
Another possible biological cause for panic attacks could be abnormalities in the brain. A panic disorder can be the result of certain changes in the way that parts of the brain function. Recent studies have suggested that panic attacks often co-occur with psychotic disorders like schizophrenia or post traumatic stress disorder. It is also possible that psychotic symptoms may lead to panic attacks. Psychotic episodes may precede or predict the onset of specific anxiety disorders as well like post traumatic stress disorder. Some research also suggests that your body’s natural fight-or-flight response to danger is involved in panic attacks. The bodies natural alarm system is a set of mental and physical mechanisms that allows a person to respond to a threat such as an accelerated heart rate and an increased breathing pattern. During a panic attack, these feelings are triggered unnecessarily when there is no danger. It is unknown why a panic attack occurs when there’s no obvious danger present.
Major life stress in some cases may be a cause of panic attacks as well. Stress may come in the form of a stressful event or a major life transition like the death or separation of a loved one. Some researchers have found that in these cases, when stresses lower your resistance, the underlying physical predisposition kicks in and may trigger an attack.
An environmental cause of panic attacks might be seen through an addiction. The intoxication or withdrawal of drugs or alcohol due to substance abuse can also possibly contribute to a panic disorder in an individual as well. Biological and environmental causes of a panic disorder might sometimes work together. Typically, attacks come out of the blue. But, eventually the sufferer might bring them on themselves by responding to physical symptoms associated with an attack. For example, if a person suffering from a panic disorder experiences a racing heartbeat caused by an outside source like taking a certain medication, they might interpret this as a symptom of an attack. They might bring on an attack because of their anxiety since a lot of the fear associated with an attack is fear of having another panic attack. Since the exact cause of panic disorders are not fully understood, it is important to seek treatment through several different forms of therapy.
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Panic Attacks Help – Anxiety Disorder in a Child
Most children will experience a typical fear or anxiety during their life time. They might be nervous about taking a test or starting a new school. In most cases, these fears do not turn irrational or develop into a panic attack or a panic disorder. But, there are some children that may show signs of a panic disorder for other reasons.
As much as we would like to protect the innocence of children and prevent anything from interfering with their lives, it is not always possible. Children can be afflicted with certain types of anxiety disorders that are also seen in adults. A generalized panic disorder might be seen in children in a variety of ways. They might excessively worry about everyday events like school or things at home. They tend to be extremely hard on themselves and strive for perfection. They might redo tasks in an effort to get them to come out perfectly. They might also seek constant approval and reassurance from others.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is another type of anxiety disorder that might be seen in children. OCD is intrusive or unwanted thoughts or obsessions that can’t seem to be removed from a person’s head. They also might display strong urges to repeatedly perform ritualistic behaviors and routines to try to ease their anxieties. Although the peak age at which a child might be diagnosed with OCD is ten, it can be seen in children as young as two or three. This anxiety disorder might be seen in children through excessive hand washing, the feeling of terror that they will accidentally do something wrong, rechecking or counting items excessively to ward off unwelcome thoughts, etc.
A panic disorder is another anxiety disorder that might be seen in children. A panic disorder can be diagnosed in children who suffer from at least two unexpected panic attacks followed by at least one month of concern over having another attack. Typically it is not seen in young children but it can be diagnosed in adolescents.
Children can also exhibit an anxiety disorder though specific phobias; irrational fears towards specific objects, places or situations. Although childhood fears like being fearful of animals, storms or the dark can go away on their own, if a fear is persistent within the child for at least six months and interferes with their daily activities, the child is said to have a phobia. Symptoms might include suffering from a stomach ache or headache, a tantrum, becoming clingy, or freezing in place when confronted with the fear.
Children who are exposed to an extreme stressor like a sudden death of a parent, a natural disaster, an accident or a physical assault, or children who witness a traumatic event can suffer from post traumatic stress disorder which is another type of anxiety disorder. These children might display symptoms of not eating or sleeping, emotional numbing, reliving the event through nightmares or through playing, or fear that the event might happen again.
Although these types of anxiety disorders can be both found in adults as well as in children, the physical and emotional signs might be very different. For one, children do not have an understanding that their fears are irrational plus, they might not be able to verbalize their feelings either. Children might display symptoms such as crying, throwing tantrums or becoming extremely clingy. Children how are suspected of having an anxiety disorder should be referred to their regular pediatrician.
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