Many patients who get regular panic attacks will tell you that a panic attack is far worse than a heart attack. The fact that these attacks often closely resemble a heart attack, makes the experience even worse. Let’s discuss the causes and nature of panic symptoms and attacks in brief.
As mentioned before, these can be very similar to a heart attack. The patient will experience a rapid heart rate or heart palpitations. There will sometimes be chest pains and often you will feel as if you can’t breathe. Sufferers will often also experience numbness in certain parts of the body, hot flushes and muscle pains.
Profuse sweating during an attack is also very common. Many people lose all strengths in their arms and/or legs. Its’ not uncommon for someone having one of these attacks to feel that he’s dying right there on the spot, or losing his mind. Dizziness and nausea also frequently occur.
Panic attacks very often go hand in hand with depression. The sufferer will experience feelings of deep despair and thoughts of death can be quite prevalent. Suicide thoughts are also very common.
The causes of anxiety attacks can be numerous and very hard to pinpoint. Very often the cause for a particular patient’s attacks can never be established without any doubt. Sometimes one can trace it back to a deficiency in his/her diet, such as eating too much sugar or taking in to much coffee. Menopause and other hormonal changes caused by PMDD or thyroid dysfunction can sometimes result in panic attacks.
A particular situation can often trigger a panic attack. People who suffer from claustrophobia will therefore get an attack if they end up in a confined space. Others who suffer from agoraphobia can’t stand it to be in a wide open space. Some people suffer from what is called general anxiety disorder: they can get an attack when exposed to a multitude of different circumstances.
There’s a variety of medications on the market to alleviate these symptoms. They include tranquilizers, beta blockers and what is referred to as benzodiazepines. Some people get an anticipatory panic attack when they feel the attack is starting. This of course makes things worse. There are specific medication available to relieve this anticipatory panic. Other types of medicines focus on relieving the symptoms of the actual attack.
When you start to feel these panic symptoms and you realize an attack is just around the corner, sit down and take a couple of deep breaths. Remind yourself that what you’re going through right now is not based on fact. Your body’s alarm system has gone haywire, just like a faulty alarm of a car in a car park with nobody nearby. The attack also won’t kill you, or in any way physically harm you.
Looking for more info on the nature as well as the causes of panic symptoms? Get it instantly in our complete panic attack symptoms overview.