‘’It started 10 years ago. I was sitting in a seminar in a hotel and this thing came out of the clear blue. I felt like I was dying.’’
‘’For me, a panic attack is almost a violent experience. I feel like I’m going insane. It makes me feel like I’m losing control in a very extreme way. My heart pounds really hard, things seem unreal, and there’s this very strong feeling of impounding doom.’’
‘’Between attacks there is this dread and anxiety that it’s going to happen again. It can be very debilitating, trying to escape those feeling of panic.’’
What is Panic Disorder?
People with panic disorder have feelings of terror that strike suddenly and repeatedly with no warning. They can’t predict when an attack will occur, and many develop intense anxiety between episodes, worrying when and where the next one will strike. Between episodes they feel a persistent, lingering worry that another attack could come any minute. When a panic attack strikes, your heart most likely pounds, and you may feel sweaty, weak, faint or dizzy. Your hands may tingle or feel numb, and you might feel flushed or chilled. You may have chest pain or smothering sensation, a sense of unreality, or fear of impending doom or loss control. You may genuinely believe you’re having a heart attack or stroke, losing your mind, or on the verge of death. Attacks can occur any time, even during nondream sleep. Most attacks average a couple of minutes, but occasionally they can go on for up to 10 minutes. In rare cases, they may last an hour or more.
Panic disorder is often accompanied by other conditions, such as depression or alcoholism, and may spawn phobias, which can develop in places or situations where panic attacks have occurred. For example, if a panic attack strikes while you’re riding an elevator, you may develop a fear of elevators and start avoiding them. Some people’s lives become greatly restricted- they avoid normal, everyday activities such as grocery shopping, driving or even leaving the house. They may be able to confront a feared situation only if accompanied by a spouse or other trusted person. Basically, they avoid any situation they fear would make them feel helpless if a panic occurred. When people’s lives become so restricted by the disorder, as happens in about one-third of all people with panic disorder, the condition is called agoraphobia. A tendency toward panic disorder and agoraphobia runs in families. Nevertheless, early treatment of panic disorder can often stop the progression to agoraphobia.
Panic attack symptoms include:
- Pounding heart
- Chest pains
- Light-headedness or dizziness
- Flushes or chills
- Shortness of breath, or a feeling of smothering or coking
- Tingling or numbness
- Shaking or trembling
- Feeling of unreality
- Terror
- A feeling of being out control or going crazy
- Sweating
Who gets Panic Disorder?
Panic disorder strike at least 1.6% of the population and is twice as common in women as in men. It can appear at any age, but most often it begins in young adults. Not everyone who experiences panic attacks will develop panic disorder for example; many people have one attack but never have another. For those who do have panic disorder, though, it’s important to seek treatment.
How is Panic Disorder treated?
Studies have shown that proper treatment- a type of psychotherapy called cognitive-behavioral therapy, medications, or possibly a combination of the two- helps 70% to 90% of people with panic disorder. Significant improvement is usually seen within 6 to 8 weeks. Cognitive-behavioral approaches teach patients how to view the panic situations differently and demonstrate ways to reduce anxiety (e.g., using breathing exercise or techniques to refocus attention). Exposure therapy, a technique used in cognitive-behavior therapy, often helps to alleviate the phobias that may result from panic disorder. In exposure therapy, people are very slowly exposure to the fearful situation until they become desensitized to it. Some people find the greatest relief from panic disorder symptoms when they take certain prescription medication. Such medication, like cognitive-behavioral therapy, can help to prevent panic attacks or reduce their frequency and severity. Two types of medications that have been shown to be safe and effective in the treatment of panic disorder are antidepressant and benzodiazepines.