Panic Attack Symptoms
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 40 million Americans suffer from anxiety disorders.
This is 18% of the population!
If you suffer from anxiety, the things to take away from this statistic are: anxiety is a real disease and you are not alone.
There are actually 5 types of anxiety disorders, and they all involve being acutely afraid when there is actually nothing to be afraid of.
* panic disorder,
* obsessive-compulsive disorder-OCD,
* PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder,
* social phobia (or social anxiety disorder),
* specific phobias, and
* GAD or generalized anxiety disorder
We will focus on panic or anxiety attacks, which the doctors call panic disorder.
Panic disorders affect 6 million Americans. While panic disorder strikes all ages and genders, the highest risk is for women between childhood and middle age. Once the problem starts, most people suffer from panic attacks for an extended period, from 6 months to several years.
Anxiety attacks are sudden attacks of terror, where you lose touch with reality, and feel an impending sense of doom. Panic attacks can occur when you are sleeping or awake. While some symptoms can last several hours, the intense feelings usually peak in about 10 minutes.
Physical symptoms include:
* a very rapid heart rate
* sweaty palms
* feeling weak
* feeling faintness
* dizziness
* feeling chilled or flush
* numbing or tingling feelings in the hands
* nausea
* feeling chest pains
* smothering sensations.
Fear of ones own unexplained physical symptoms is also common with anxiety attacks. People having anxiety attacks sometimes believe they are having heart attacks or losing their minds. Since they cant predict where an attack will occur, many worry intensely and dread the next attack.
Panic attacks often are accompanied by other problems, such as depression. Symptoms of depression include feelings of sadness or hopelessness, alcoholism and drug abuse, changes in appetite or sleep patterns, low energy, and difficulty concentrating.
People who have several repeated anxiety attacks often avoid situations or places where such attacks have occurred.
For example, if a panic attack happened in an elevator, someone with panic disorder may develop a fear of elevators that could affect the choice of a job or an apartment, and restrict where that person can seek medical attention or enjoy entertainment.
Some peoples lives become so restricted that they avoid normal activities, such as driving or grocery shopping. About one-third become housebound, and are only able to confront what they fear when with someone else. This extreme condition is called agoraphobia, or fear of open spaces.
Early treatment can prevent agoraphobia. Unfortunately, many people with panic disorder are not diagnosed. They can sometimes go from doctor to doctor for years and visit the emergency room repeatedly before someone correctly understands their condition.
My own experience with panic attacks is very similar to this.
My first anxiety attack was at age 21 and continued for several years. I felt this impending disaster coming but did not know what. My physical symptoms included feeling dizzy and smothering sensations.
My doctor started me on drugs, and while they made me feel temporarily better, they didn’t stop the attacks. Because of the nasty side effects (and the huge expenses), I eventually stopped using the tranquilizers.
I then tried exercise and deep breathing, but these didn’t stop my anxiety attacks.
I then gave up flying and driving and most social encounters for 3 years.
I finally found a way to stop these panic attacks. I felt eternally grateful that they had stopped, and I now try to provide support and information to others who suffer from panic attacks.