Several million Americans will suffer from symptoms of panic anxiety or panic disorder and anxiety disorder during their lifetime. Symptoms start before the age of 25, with some patients experiencing symptoms during childhood, and continue well into old age without intervention.
Aside from panic or panic disorder, anxiety disorders still have other different types. Some of the major forms of anxiety disorders, including panic disorders, are obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic disorder, and separation anxiety.
All of these conditions have different sets of symptoms. But, all these disorders are characterized by extreme, irrational and often disabling fear, tension, worry and anxiety in relation to the object of fear or the cause of anxiety. In most cases, patients of any anxiety disorders recognize that their anxiety problems are irrational and blown out of proportion. Still, they can’t manage their symptoms, much less to eliminate them completely without intervention.
Causes
While the root causes of these disorders are yet to be identified, there are storing evidences, although not concrete, to suggest that these are inherited and tend to run in families. Most researchers believe that these are pure psychological problems. With further research, though, it was confirmed that genetics alongside disturbances in brain signals and body chemistry all contribute to the development of these conditions.
Anxiety is a body mechanism that is designed to force a person into action when faced with threatening conditions. In general panic and anxiety are caused by irregularities in one of the body’s evolutionary fight-and-flight mechanism, anxiety that is. In patients of anxiety disorders, this mechanism goes off despite the lack of any real threat. Physical causes aren’t always necessary to trigger such natural alarms. All it needs is that the person ‘perceives’ or ‘thinks’ that such harm is present.
Signs and Symptoms
Anxiety disorders have several different symptoms. Nevertheless, these symptoms could paint a picture of what patients of any anxiety disorder experience.
* Muscle tension with or without muscle twitching * Fatigue * Intense wave of fear, apprehension, dread, anxiety or stress * Irrational and extreme fear and irritability and confusion * Inability to remain calm * Inability to concentrate or poor concentration
On top of what were already mentioned, people experiencing panic attacks and those diagnosed with panic disorders complain of the following symptoms:
* Faster heartbeat or racing heart * Increased sweating * Shaking or tremnling * Pain or discomfort in the chest * Shortness of breath * Dizziness, light headedness, or faint * Sensations of losing track of time * Feeling the need to escape or find escape * Derealization or detachment from the reality * Depersonalization
Treatment options for Anxiety and Panic Disorders
Panic anxiety disorders are treated with a range of treatment methods. Medications are typically used for short-term treatment although there are medications that are made for long-term treatment. Psychological therapies, on the other hand, are designed to help patients identify the thinking patterns that lead to attacks of anxiety, cope with the symptoms as they try to eliminate them, and eventually recreate healthier and more appropriate thinking patterns.
Suffering from panic anxiety is no walk in the beach. Both conditions are often described as among the most terrifying and intensely frightening experiences, comparable only to dying. Find aid now and be free from these debilitating conditions.