Health Touches

Panic attacks occur when a person feels severe anxiety that begins and ends all of a sudden and are also referred to as anxiety attacks. Such attacks can be so scary that the person having it may feel that he or she is about to die, collapse or lose control of the mind and feels desperate to escape as well as feels that they need help.

Usually Does Not Occur When in Danger, But in Normal Situations

Panic attacks usually do not occur in situations where the person’s life is really in danger, but occur when there is no real danger and starts without any obvious reason, and many times, occur in everyday situations that include being in a supermarket. These attacks are very unpleasant and people that have had one are extremely frightened about having another one, and tend to remember the first one for the rest of their lives.

Panic disorder is the instance when people have frequent panic attacks, usually once a month or more. Factors that indicate such a situation include the patient’s life being seriously affected by fear of having attacks or needing to avoid certain places for fear of having an attack. Panic disorders are very like panic attacks though the former is more serious and a life-threatening type of panic attack.

Their symptoms are obviously the panic attack itself which may make the person feel to shake or tremble, sweat, choke, have a racing or pounding heart, feel chest pain or tightness, nausea or stomach pain and hot and cold feelings, and more. The attack may last ten to twenty minutes though shaky feelings may last for hours. It is believed that one in ten persons might have had one attack per in a year and panic disorders, which are just as common, affect three persons out of every ten at some point of time or the other in their lives.

There are several causes that lead to panic attack disorders including panic running in the family, personality of the person, certain events and situations, having a strong inherited tendency to panic, common substances such as caffeine can cause such a situation as too can over-breathing, which is common to people with panic disorders.

Some of the places that often cause an attack or disorder include supermarkets, shopping malls, churches, meetings as well as cars, and it is also usual for persons to panic when they are alone when they feel unable to leave the situation easily. It is thus important for family members to understand what factors cause such problems, and be able to discuss their own feelings without feeling guilty or being blamed for it.