ANXIETY – What To Know About Panic Attacks

There are certain times in life where you just can’t help but feel anxious. I’ll give you a few examples; your first date, the first time (or maybe every time) you have to merge with traffic on the highway, moments leading up to an important job interview, or signing your name on the dotted line for a mortgage. Are ya with me? That, my friend, is a normal part of life. But what if you experience anxiety on a regular basis or in ways that interfere with daily life? If so, you might be suffering from one of the many types of anxiety disorders. There are several different types such as generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, phobias, or panic disorder to name a few. But, in todays blog I would like to focus on panic disorder.

PANIC DISORDER

Panic disorder is characterized by unexpected and repeated incidents of intense fear along with physical symptoms that may include heart palpitations, chest pain, sweating, dizziness, shortness of breath, etc. These frightening sensations lead the individual to believe they are experiencing a heart attack or some other life-threatening emergency. Out of the 140 million emergency room visits in 2016, 15% of those were from individuals experiencing panic attacks. As a result, the diagnosis of panic disorder is all too often not made until exhaustive and costly medical procedures have taken place.

WHAT IS A PANIC ATTACK

A panic attack is characterized by a sudden, gripping feeling of fear that triggers severe physical reactions. The scary physical symptoms leads one to believe they are having a medical emergency even though there is no real danger or apparent cause.  A panic attack can occur during a calm state or in an anxious state and they can be terrifying.

Stacy won’t ever forget her first panic attack. She had been looking forward to some down time at the end of a busy week when she could finally crack open a recently bought novel. So, with the whole house to herself she settled down in her comfy chair, her mug of steaming hot coffee in hand she prepared to lose herself for a couple of hours as she dug into the book.

After a couple of minutes, like a brief whisper, she noticed a flutter in her chest but kept reading. Suddenly, a tingling feeling started in her head. That got her attention! It seemed all at once she was aware of other odd sensations washing over her. She felt slightly nauseous, her heart was racing, hands were trembling and she felt light-headed.

As fear rose up in her throat she wondered if she was having a stroke or a heart attack. It seemed that all of the sensations were building in intensity. She vacillated between being in denial that anything was wrong and whether she should call 911. After about ten minutes she was shaken but was kind of “feeling normal” again.

Many people can have one or two panic attacks in their lifetime during stressful times and the problem will go away. But, if an individual keeps experiencing them repeatedly and lives in fear about when or where their next attack might happen that is indicative of a panic disorder.

SYMPTOMS

While a panic attack starts in the mind, the physical symptoms are all too real. They typically include some of these signs or symptoms:

• Sense of impending doom or danger
• Fear of loss of control or death
• Palpitations, pounding heart, or accelerated heart rate
• Chest pain
• Sweating
• Trembling or shaking
• Shortness of breath or tightness in throat
• Chills or hot flashes
• Nausea or abdominal destress
• Headache
• Dizziness, lightheadedness or faintness
• Numbness or tingling sensations
• Feeling of unreality or detachment

Although individuals dealing with anxiety may often experience some of these physical symptoms, those having a panic attack will notice a difference in the intensity and duration of the symptoms. Panic attacks generally reach their peak level of intensity in 10 minutes or so and then will begin to subside. It is because of the intensity of the symptoms and their tendency to imitate life-threatening issues that is so frightening to those experiencing the panic attack.

CAUSES

The causes of panic disorder are not clearly understood. However, research has shown that genetics, other biological factors, stressful life events as well as thought processes that exaggerate relatively normal bodily reactions could play a role in the disorder. 

TREATMENT

Because the symptoms of a panic attack can mimic those of other illnesses its best to talk to your doctor about your symptoms first. After ruling out any unrelated physical problems causing the symptoms you can then take steps to address the panic attacks. Panic disorder is usually treated with psychotherapy, medication, or both. A type of psychotherapy called cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is especially useful as a first-line treatment. CBT can help you change your way of thinking, behaving, and reacting to the feelings you experience when a panic attack wants to rear it’s ugly head. Knowing how to react differently to the physical sensations of anxiety and fear that wants to rise up during a panic attack will be extremely helpful. Most patients show significant progress after a few weeks of therapy

Symptoms of panic disorder can be quite overwhelming and frightening. However, they can be managed and improved with treatment. Seeking treatment is the most important part of reducing symptoms and improving your quality of life. If you think (or know) you are struggling with panic disorder and want to gain the upper hand on it, please give me (Kris Henderson) a call at 616-516-1517 or click on the website link to set up an appointment. I look forward to meeting with you!