Panic Attack Symptoms

A panic attack refers to an intense period of anxiety, fear, and physical discomforts like stomach upset, palpitation, trembling or shaking, etc. These symptoms of panic attack can appear abruptly and last for a few minutes to about half an hour. It is commonly associated with the anxiety disorder, but it can be easily differentiated from the other types of anxiety disorders by its intensity and sudden occurrence. During a panic attack, the sufferer usually feels a fear of dying or losing control over the mind. People who have suffered panic attacks once are more likely to develop a fear or anxiety about another attack. This can eventually lead to panic disorder, which is characterized by repeated attacks without any apparent reason.

Causes of Panic Attack
Panic attacks can have several causes. It has been observed that panic attacks can run in the families and hence, heredity is suspected to play an important role. It is also strongly related to phobias, especially to agoraphobia, which is an anxiety disorder, where an individual develops a fear for large and unfamiliar public places. Sometimes, certain diseases and disorders like hyperthyroidism, hypoglycemia, schizophrenia, traumatic disorder, stress, Wilson's disease, and mitral valve prolapse are also found to trigger panic attacks in some individuals. Other causes of panic attacks include lack of assertiveness, alcohol or drug abuse, certain medications, and chronic or serious illnesses.

Panic Attack Symptoms
Symptoms of panic attacks are often mistaken for those of heart attack symptoms or a nervous breakdown. These symptoms include palpitation or accelerated heart rate, trembling or shaking, sweating, smothering or breathing difficulty, chest pain and stomach upset. These are the classic panic anxiety attack symptoms. During a panic attack, an individual can also feel nausea, dizziness or lightheadedness, terror, as well as tingling and numbness in the hands. A person in such a situation often feels that he is going to die or lose control over his mind. Many individuals have been found to experience perceptual distortion, i.e. feeling something that is not real or does not exist in reality.

Panic attack or the panic attack symptoms are the result of our body's fight or flight response, where the hormone adrenaline is secreted by the adrenal glands to prepare our body to either fight or run from the danger. But, in case of a panic attack, this can happen even in the absence of any potential danger. As a result, adrenaline is not utilized and this in turn results in its accumulation in the body, which causes the anxiety panic attack symptoms like palpitation, sweating, shortness of breath, etc.

Panic Attack Treatment
Formerly, tricyclic antidepressants were the most frequently used medications to control panic attacks. But nowadays, many other medications are available for treating panic attack disorder. Both serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) and the benzodiazepine group of drugs are used in the treatment of panic attacks. Beta blockers are mainly used to relive the symptoms like rapid or irregular heart beat. Psychotherapy is another treatment option for overcoming panic attacks, and it has shown promising results, if used in combination with medications. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a form of psychotherapy that has proven to be quite effective as an anxiety cure. This treatment option helps the sufferer of panic attack to identify the specific factors or situations that can stimulate such an attack.

Identification of the triggering factors and avoiding them can play an important role in preventing a panic attack. It is very important to avoid alcohol and drug abuse and practice stress management techniques and aerobic exercises to reduce the occurrence of panic attacks. Equally important is not to neglect the panic attack symptoms. This is because, if not addressed in time, panic attacks can give rise to some serious problems like depression, suicidal tendencies and drug or alcohol abuse.