Some Known Ways To Understand Panic Attacks
According to research, approximately 5% of the population experience bouts of panic attacks in their lifetime. While most people do not experience anything more than mild anxiety attacks in the course of their lives, there are people who experience repeated attacks and are actually suffering from a serious panic disorder.
What is a panic attack?
A panic attack can be defined as a fight or flight response which can occur out of context. It is a sudden feeling of fear that develops for no apparent reason. Some people who have panic disorder may feel that they “are going crazy” and will seek ways to get out of the situation they are in.
What are the symptoms of a panic attack?
How do you know you are having a panic attack? Here are some symptoms you should be on the lookout for:
• Sweating, trembling, shortness of breath and rapid heart rate
• Chills, hot flashes and sometimes, hyperventilation
• Abdominal cramping, chest pain and headache
• Nausea, dizziness and faintness
• Tightness in the throat and suffocation.
Are panic attacks serious?
Most attacks are harmless but left unchecked more serious medical conditions can develop. They affect a person’s emotions and can disable their abilities to make proper decisions.
Unlike other types of anxieties, panic attacks can happen at random and they appear unprovoked. They are very sudden and intense. For example, if a person experiences an attack while driving, riding an elevator or shopping, he/she will have the urge to flee the place where the attack began. In the long run, they start avoiding these situations altogether. Also, panic attacks in children can result in lower grades, separation from parents as well as substance abuse and anxiety and depression.
What causes panic attacks?
Extensive research has shown that the tendency to have panic attacks is often an inherited condition. It may be a learned response and can occur even with people who seemingly are physically and mentally healthy. Major life events such as death and childbirth, history of physical and sexual abuse and significant stress can increase the risk of a panic attack.
Self-care at home
Contrary to what most people would think, taking care of panic attacks at home is possible. You can lessen the effects of panic attacks by taking the following steps:
1. Relax your shoulders and be conscious of any tension in your muscles.
2. Progressively tense and relax all the large muscle groups. Tighten your left leg and take a deep breath in, relax your muscle and breathe out. Move up the body – to your right leg, calves, thighs, stomach, shoulders and face.
3. Slow down your breathing. Take a deep breath and allow the air to reach your diaphragm, hold for 3-4 seconds and breathe out slowly.
4. Remember that you are not going crazy. Also, if you are able to talk, then you can breath.
The danger of self care is that you might mistake a serious illness (such as a heart attack) for a panic attack. In this case, take the necessary precaution and seek out the help of a professional.
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