What Are Anxiety Attacks?
October 23, 2009 by Panic Disorders · Leave a Comment
A severe anxiety attack, or panic attack, happens when your body suddenly gets overwhelmed with feelings such as fear, panic, and stress. Usually, it is impossible to predict panic attacks since they often come out of nowhere. This type of anxiety disorder is one of the worst because it has such bad side effects.
As many as 3 million adults in the United States have dealt with panic attacks. Unfortunately, many people do not know that a panic attack is happening and are afraid that they are going into cardiac arrest or dying.
Sadly, the people who do not know that the fear and panic they feel is actually a panic attack will not seek out treatment since they are simply unaware. The attacks often get worse until the person suffering them can not deal with them at all.
There are several typical panic attack symptoms, but they can differ with each person. Some of the panic attack effects are: High level of irrational fear and panic, breaking into cold sweats, heart racing, trouble breathing, getting dizzy, getting faint, and having severe pain.
Because having a panic attack is such a horrible experience, a lot of people are terrified to have another and this fear launches even more panic attacks. To stop the cycle of panic attacks, proper treatment must be undertaken right away.
Sometimes doctors prescribe drugs to patients who suffer from panic attacks in an effort to lower their anxiety levels. Unfortunately, these drugs are pretty difficult to take and have some fairly nasty side effects of their own, such as inability to stay away, and becoming disoriented. There are some non drug based programs that can really get panic attacks under control, and using a program like this is preferable.
Ideally, severe anxiety attacks should be handled by utilizing a program that gets inside the brain, where panic attacks originate. Programs such as Panic Away use a psychologically sound technique to help the brain to understand how to deal with and completely eliminate panic attacks. Some of the program tips are so simple that they can be used immediately with success.
It is not realistic to expect panic attacks to resolve themselves. It will take some action in order to achieve a real cure, but it is quite possible to do so with some of the programs available today.
Symptoms of an Anxiety Attack
October 23, 2009 by Panic Disorders · Leave a Comment
Anxiety attack symptoms might be different for every person, but most of the time there is more than just the feelings of panic. A person who suffers a severe anxiety attack usually feels frightened, out of control, and like they are a prisoner of this problem.
Everybody is unique, but almost always anxiety attacks that are ignored will only keep getting worse and more frequent.
The American Psychiatric Association says in their official manual of diagnosis and statistics that panic attacks will frequently begin with the feelings of panic and then will be accompanied by four or more other related symptoms.
If an anxiety attack is to be diagnosed as a medical panic attack, the symptoms have to reach their high point within a period ten minutes. Each of five symptoms must be shown during this period.
Other Anxiety Attack Symptoms
Usually some of the other effects of a panic attack are some of the following: Heart pounding, sweats, chills, overheating, having breathing issues, feeling of choking, chest pain, feeling of nausea, abdominal pain, dizziness, feeling like insanity is setting in, and numbness or a tingling feeling in the extremities. These symptoms may be simultaneous or may happen in rapid succession, it varies by person.
Anxiety attacks keep you from even being able to live a normal life. If you are a person suffering from severe anxiety, treatment is important and in fact necessary.
Regardless of how severe your anxiety attacks are, it is possible to get rid of them for good. A smart approach will involve a program using brain psychology such as Panic Away. Methods like the ones contained in that program can help you to understand the origins of attacks and stop them.
Anxiety Attacks Are a Serious Issue
October 23, 2009 by Panic Disorders · Leave a Comment
Anxiety attacks are, in fact, very serious and they need to be treated or they may grow worse.
The feelings that sufferers experience when they are having a panic attacks are truly scary: Feeling as an asthma attack is coming on, feeling that the heart is beating so fast that a heart attacks is imminent, and even physical pain in any part of the body can occur with a panic attack.
The abdominal pain that is typically seen with panic attacks can be very painful, and the lack of air that some people have make the lungs burn miserably. Worse yet can be the psychological effects: feelings of the world ending, feelings of dying, or going insane, and of being totally out of control are all typical.
Those who deal with panic attacks regularly, or even infrequently, will often say that they would do almost anything to prevent panic attacks. Sadly, they just do not know how to do so, and the damage can be severe. While there is not usually bodily damage, the damage to the emotions is very hard to deal with for most people.
Fairly often, panic attacks can feel so scary and painful that patients will feel compelled to visit an emergency room, thinking that they are perhaps having a heart attack, losing the ability to breathe, or even dying.
Unfortunately, panic attacks are not always taken seriously in an emergency setting. Doctors sometimes, upon realizing a panic attack is the problem, will just send the patient home with an attitude of “you overreacted”.
Panic attacks should be recognized as the genuine medical problem that they really are. With other medical issues, treatment may be as simple as taking the proper medication, but panic attacks just do not work that way. It is really important that panic attacks are not just handled on a case by case basis; It is best to prevent them entirely.
There are some methods for preventing panic attacks that are very effective, such as Panic Away. The idea which makes this plan work better than anything else is that the brain mechanism causing panic attacks to occur is stopped. When the trigger to panic attacks is prevented, you can live free of them at last.
Panic Attacks Need To Be Treated
October 23, 2009 by Panic Disorders · Leave a Comment
Panic attacks do not get better, they get worse. Sometimes it takes a while, and sometimes the panic attacks begin accelerating right away, but they just do not resolve themselves without any help. Usually panic attacks start in the adolescent years, but occasionally later onset is seen.
Typically, an average adolescent who starts having panic attacks during his or her teenage years and does not seek treatment will continue to suffer from panic attacks. These panic attacks can last for the entire duration of a person’s lifespan.
If panic attacks do not get treated they tend to cause additional problems. Often, these other problems are closely related to the dread of having other panic attacks. Some patients are so terrified of having attacks that they do almost anything to avoid them, but this usually does not work out because of the fact that panic attacks really can not be accurately predicted. Hiding from panic attacks will not work, and it can sometimes just make them much worse.
Other Problems That Panic Attacks Can Cause
Many complications can arise as a result of panic attacks. These complications can differ as each person is unique, but the following are some of the more common results that are seen with panic attacks, especially ones that are not treated. These complications include: Depression, phobias, failure in school, problems at work, money issues, drug or alcohol problems, and social problems.
Those people who suffer from full blown panic disorder have even more severe problems because they have a higher risk rate for the development of heart disease. The reasons for this are as yet unknown.
It is very important that you get your panic attacks treated. They will not abate until you face the problem and seek treatment. If you get help before the panic attacks escalate, you will have a much easier road to recovery. A program that uses proven psychological methods such as Panic Away is often the most reliable way to handle panic attacks and to make certain that you will not have to deal with constant future attacks.
Panic attacks are a crippling problem and everyone deserves to live a life free of this problem. If you suffer from panic attacks, getting treatment will be the best thing you can possibly do for yourself.
Panic Attack Treatment
October 23, 2009 by Panic Disorders · Leave a Comment
Anxiety is a serious medical problem. Panic attacks, which are one of the effects of Anxiety disorder, must be treated or they will often become much worse. It is not uncommon for anxiety attacks to spin out of control until they have taken over a person’s life. Getting help to stop panic attacks is essential, so that they are not allowed to worsen.
With any medical condition, the right treatment will often depend on the patient. Treatment must be chosen based on what the patient and his or her doctor both feel is right. Even if one of the below approaches fails, there will be another that will work for you.
Feeling positive and hopeful in regards to your treatment is a good indicator of the level of success it will have.
These are the most often used methods of treating anxiety:
Medications Prescribed for Anti-Anxiety
A large number of medications are designed to treat anxiety. These drugs are primarily found in the benzodiazepine family, and include such medications as Xanax, Valium, and Ativan. Some other drugs are not designed exclusively for the purpose of treating anxiety or panic attacks, but do have the side effect of reducing anxiety levels, such as anti-depressants. Generally these drugs are taken as needed, but sometimes are taken on a regular schedule so as to reduce constant anxiety problems.
Medications such as these can be quite successful in handling anxiety and panic, but they do not cure the problem, they merely medicate it when it occurs. These medications are also highly addictive, so caution should be used when taking these drugs.
Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy for Anxiety
Many patients consider hypnosis an excellent drug free option for the treatment of anxiety. Hypnotherapy fights anxiety by using deep relaxation to allow a person to be open to sharing the causes behind the anxiety. Hypnotic suggestion is then used to make the brain respond to those causes in a different way.
However, anxiety can present a real problem in hypnosis. Many people who suffer from anxiety are unable to relax sufficiently to be hypnotized. Hypnotherapy is also less effective on panic attacks. Especially in the case of severe panic attacks, hypnosis alone will not generally be sufficient to combat the problem. Most hypnotherapists who take on new patients with severe panic attacks will insist on the patient getting concurrent cognitive therapy or psychological counseling.
There are some self-hypnosis techniques that, when used in a calm and safe atmosphere, can help deal with anxiety. However, these are not effective treatments for panic attacks.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is used in the treatment of anxiety and a number of other conditions. CBT works by seeking out improper thought patterns and retraining them. Since the way that a person views a situation is altered, it is possible to also alter their reaction to it.
CBT can be effective for anxiety and panic attack patients, but it is a long process. Typically, CBT involves a series of mental exercises that must be performed regularly. While it does take some dedication on the part of the patient, this is a quite effective treatment. CBT allows panic and anxiety to be truly eliminated, so it is a cure rather than a short term fix.
Causes of Panic Attacks
October 23, 2009 by Panic Disorders · Leave a Comment
The reasons for panic attacks are not know with 100% certainty. There are some certain factors that certainly appear to contribute to the onset of panic attacks, but the reasons almost always vary by person and by situation.
According to scientific experts, the effects of panic attacks may possibly be related to the action of chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters. If neurotransmitter are mis-firing, they can make a reaction called “fight or flight” occur. This reaction is typically the precursor to panic attacks. The unknown here is why this reaction would be set off when the time is wrong, and the reasons behind that are still being researched today.
The exact reasons that people have panic attacks are usually unknown. There are so many different things that may contribute to panic attacks that it is possible only to find commonalities that may cause a person to be more likely to have them. There is not yet a decisive triggering factor that is identical in each and every case. It is quite possible that genetics may play a part since panic attacks sometimes follow family blood lines. Sometimes life events that cause a lot of stress can possibly contribute to panic attacks.
Some specific medical problems, and medications, may be causative factors in panic attacks. Should you start to suffer from panic attacks, especially if you have never had them, any potential medical causes need to be investigated prior to treatment.
The medical problems that might be related to panic attacks include the following: Mitral valve prolapse, hyperthyroidism, hypoglycemia, stimulant use, and withdrawal from medication.
Should your panic attacks be coming from medical causes that can actually be managed, your doctor will sometimes try to find a way to change the dosage of medication, or tell you to change some things such as life choices so the panic attacks can be stopped.
If your panic attacks do not have medical origins, then there is still hope. It is possible to control and potentially eliminate panic attacks via the usage of a psychological program. Panic Away is a program which is designed to stop the panic attack triggers. Even if you are not certain of every one of your triggers, it can help you because the program takes away the fear of more panic attacks. As anyone suffering these attacks knows, the fear of more attacks is often the worst part.
Since this is program that makes sure to exert influence on only the areas of the brain that actually cause panic attacks, this is the most effective way to put a stop to these life damaging attacks.