Panic disorder is a a condition that is characterized by repetitive panic attacks. The main symptom of panic disorder is panic attack which is a random wave of intense and overwhelming fear and anxiety that last for a few minutes to an hour.
Understanding Panic Disorder
In a huge number of cases, panic attacks strike without warning. A panic attack is random and thus it happens anywhere at any time, without provocation. It could even occur while the person diagnosed with it as at sleep.
Panic attacks could be one-time events, but most people experience repetitive episodes that may happen for years. People who have had a panic attack in the past could potentially experience more episodes in the future. Usually, panic attacks occur in places where they have first manifested or in circumstances that often provoke such attacks.
People who have panic attacks are not necessarily sick, because they are healthy, normal people who have minor issues with anxiety and fear. In fact, panic disorder often accompanies other psychological disorders or concerns such as phobias, depression and anxiety disorders.
Symptoms
The classic symptoms of panic attack include lightheadedness, feeling dizzy, irregular heartbeat, and general sense of having a heart attack. Most patients often describe the symptoms as having an overwhelming sense of impending doom or of going crazy. No wonder, it is often described as among the most intensely terrifying experience a person could live through.
A full blown episode of a panic disorder has the following physical and psychological symptoms:
Physical : Hyperventilation or shortness of breath, heart palpitations, chest discomfort or pain, shaking or trembling, choking feeling, sweating, upset stomach or nausea, lightheadedness, hot or cold flashes, and tingling sensations throughout the body.
Psychological : Feeling of unreal body, of being detached from one’s surrounding or feeling ‘spaced out’, fear of dying, of losing control and of going crazy, and general sense of having a heart attack.
You may be having the condition if you :
Have had a panic attack at least once.
Worry excessively about an impending episode of panic attack.
Start behaving differently because you are trying to minimize the chances of you having another attack.
Causes
The causes of panic disorder are yet to be fully discovered. However, experts agree that the condition runs in the family, it is directly linked to major circumstances in one’s life and is deeply rooted in traumatic experiences. It may also be tied to specific medical conditions such as hyperthyroidism, hypoglycemia, withdrawal from certain medications, mitral valve prolapsed and use of certain medications.
Treatments for Panic Disorder
There are treatment and therapy options for panic disorder. Among the strategies that are known for producing good results are:
Cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT – This is possibly the best treatment for panic disorder and is often used for treatment of anxiety disorder, agoraphobia and other forms of phobia. This therapy focuses on fixing the thinking and behavior patterns that trigger and sustain attacks. In general, it allows the patient to see his fears and anxieties from a more realistic side.
Exposure therapy – Exposure therapy uses a controlled environment to trigger an attack. Thereby helping the patient to create coping mechanisms for better handling of the symptoms of each episode.
Other options for treating panic disorder include use of medications and application of self-help techniques.
Panic disorder can be a deeply unsettling condition. Although it may be intensely and overwhelmingly frightening for people who are suffering from it, there are actually solutions that can minimize the frequency and intensity of each attack. Know more about this condition by dropping by my website.