Have you ever had a panic attack? If you have, you know that they feel absolutely awful. At their worst, they can actually feel like they're going to take your life. And in fact, that can actually happen -- but before you panic, let's take a deep breath. In general, panic attacks are absolutely harmless, and they come because they are triggered by stress, resolving on their own. Medical experts, however, no longer think that they are harmless if you experience them very frequently. Why do they happen? We'll talk about the symptoms in a minute, but first, let's talk about what causes them. Panic attacks are not the result of any disease, but instead are the result of an overblown response to fear and stress.
With extremely stressful situations, normal responses are to fight or flee. This fight or flight response is absolutely normal under truly life-threatening situations. However, panic attacks happen when this fight or flight response is overblown physically so that the body is suddenly flooded with adrenaline and epinephrine, which causes the body to respond to the stress as though the person were experiencing an extremely dangerous situation. For those who suffer from panic attacks, experiences can last anywhere from 15 seconds to 30 minutes. Women are more likely to suffer from panic attacks than men are.
Panic attacks are unpredictable and frightening episodes and can occur anywhere and anytime. A person experiences mounting fear may have two or more symptoms. One can experience panic attacks in stressful situations but experiencing frequent panic attacks is a disorder - panic disorder.
Panic disorder is different from but related to the condition of panic attacks. You experience panic attack symptoms, which can be liberally disabling. For example, you may have feelings of terror or dread, shortness of breath, a racing heart, trembling or shaking is, an upset stomach, tingling sensations or numbness, a feeling that you're joking, suffocating, or even that you might die -- or least lose control.
What causes panic attacks? The mind and the body react to intense fear. In the physical sense, it is traced to genetic malfunction. You can have panic disorder if a family member experienced depression or had episodes of panic attacks. However, medical science cannot pinpoint the exact causes of panic attacks because not all causes are known but the following have been known to cause the onset of these disabling attacks: genetics, stress, and medication.
Stress especially can trigger panic attacks. This is especially true for protracted stress or a life-changing situation. For example, if you've recently lost a very close relative, you may begin to experience panic attacks. You may not know you're having a panic attack when you first begin to experience your first one, but may simply be perplexed (and very scared) because you feel like you're going to lose control. One of panic attacks' hallmarks is that the body reacts to any fear as though there's a very dangerous situation to be faced, when in fact nothing of the sort is true.
If you suffer from severe panic attacks, most likely both your mind and body are reacting to fear. For example, if you already are under severe stress or if you suffer from depression, your body can have panic attack reactions, which exacerbates your mental fear, which further provokes physical symptoms, and so on. Panic attacks themselves can become a vicious cycle. It may become so bad, sadly, that thinking of having a panic attack can in fact actually cause one. Your mind first registers fear, then your body responds.
If you have experienced frequent episodes of panic attack symptoms, see a doctor or seek counselling. A doctor will recommend an anti-depressant drug and the counselling sessions can help you understand your fears.
With extremely stressful situations, normal responses are to fight or flee. This fight or flight response is absolutely normal under truly life-threatening situations. However, panic attacks happen when this fight or flight response is overblown physically so that the body is suddenly flooded with adrenaline and epinephrine, which causes the body to respond to the stress as though the person were experiencing an extremely dangerous situation. For those who suffer from panic attacks, experiences can last anywhere from 15 seconds to 30 minutes. Women are more likely to suffer from panic attacks than men are.
Panic attacks are unpredictable and frightening episodes and can occur anywhere and anytime. A person experiences mounting fear may have two or more symptoms. One can experience panic attacks in stressful situations but experiencing frequent panic attacks is a disorder - panic disorder.
Panic disorder is different from but related to the condition of panic attacks. You experience panic attack symptoms, which can be liberally disabling. For example, you may have feelings of terror or dread, shortness of breath, a racing heart, trembling or shaking is, an upset stomach, tingling sensations or numbness, a feeling that you're joking, suffocating, or even that you might die -- or least lose control.
What causes panic attacks? The mind and the body react to intense fear. In the physical sense, it is traced to genetic malfunction. You can have panic disorder if a family member experienced depression or had episodes of panic attacks. However, medical science cannot pinpoint the exact causes of panic attacks because not all causes are known but the following have been known to cause the onset of these disabling attacks: genetics, stress, and medication.
Stress especially can trigger panic attacks. This is especially true for protracted stress or a life-changing situation. For example, if you've recently lost a very close relative, you may begin to experience panic attacks. You may not know you're having a panic attack when you first begin to experience your first one, but may simply be perplexed (and very scared) because you feel like you're going to lose control. One of panic attacks' hallmarks is that the body reacts to any fear as though there's a very dangerous situation to be faced, when in fact nothing of the sort is true.
If you suffer from severe panic attacks, most likely both your mind and body are reacting to fear. For example, if you already are under severe stress or if you suffer from depression, your body can have panic attack reactions, which exacerbates your mental fear, which further provokes physical symptoms, and so on. Panic attacks themselves can become a vicious cycle. It may become so bad, sadly, that thinking of having a panic attack can in fact actually cause one. Your mind first registers fear, then your body responds.
If you have experienced frequent episodes of panic attack symptoms, see a doctor or seek counselling. A doctor will recommend an anti-depressant drug and the counselling sessions can help you understand your fears.
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