Why Does a Panic Attack Hit You?

The one part of the body that houses all kinds of mystery is the mind. As man is unique, the mind is too. Yes, man knows its anatomy and physiology but its ability to react to various circumstances and how it chooses to react that way is still a great wonder. This holds true as to why people experience a panic attack without knowing that it is going to hit.

There are various helps offered by the medical community to help determine the panic attack experienced by a sufferer. The first step involves identifying the events that happened before the attack took place. Knowing what lead to the attack might mean being able to stop the chain of events from happening again.

Every sufferer has different triggers for their panic attack. Thus, the symptoms remain to be vague and subjective. Furthermore, the remedies recognized for panic attacks remain to be in the general form because of this subjectivity. The medical community will forever remain clueless about the panic attack triggers unless they will know the series of events that has led to it. But despite its vagueness, there are tips available to solve this panic attack problem. No matter what symptom a sufferer experiences, these tips will help alleviate them in one way or another.

There are several theories developed by the medical community in recognizing why specific panic attack symptoms happen and come about. It could be that a traumatic and stressful event has happened at one point in the sufferer’s existence that somehow is relived once a similar circumstance has been encountered again. This is the triggering factor that puts the sufferer on edge and leads to the attack.

These triggers can come about through the death of a significant other or family member; being able to witness an extreme accident from happening or being a part of that accident; or it could be just an intense emotion that has baffled the sufferer completely in his or her existence. Because these are very traumatic and meaningful to the person, they are considered to be big stressors. They can somehow be forgotten in one way or another but then it does not wipe away the experience.

There may have been childhood events that were quite traumatic and have never been resolved since it happened. These become suppressed emotions that somehow come to life once a similar incident takes place. But you must always remember that stresses are not always bad as well as they are not always good. One happy and challenging experience for one person may not always hold the same meaning for another.

Panic attacks are more common than you think. According to some research studies, 3 million people of 1.7% of American adults experienced sudden attacks at some point in their lives. Panic and anxiety disorders are described in DSM-IV (Diagnostic of Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) as discrete period of intense fear or discomfort in which at least 4 of 13 symptoms developed abruptly and reached a peak within 10 minutes. Panic attacks can occur without warning. Anxiety is considered as the main force driving these panic attacks. This means that people who are more anxious are more likely to have panic attacks. Phobia could also be considered as another source of panic attacks because being exposed in a scary situation increases the anxiety level of people.

Due to this rising statistics, more and more people are becoming interested with how attacks could be treated. Some prefer to turn to natural remedies for panic attacks-this means not having to take any medical (drugs) help in dealing with this disorder. The reason? Well, some people are just not comfortable in taking these medicines because they are afraid of the consequences. This is perfectly fine because natural remedies for panic attacks could be a big help to a person suffering from it.

Therapy is considered as the most natural remedy for panic and anxiety attacks. There are different types of therapy available for people and of the most popular is the cognitive behavioral therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy actually allows people to first educate them and inform them about panic and anxiety attacks. Explaining and informing people about their condition helps them in understanding why such behavior occurs and could also lead to easier discovery of the “triggers” of such attacks. This could also give reassurance to these people that they are not going crazy because most people who experience such attacks for the first time tend to think that they are because they do not fully understand what is happening. Another form of therapy that is widely practiced for panic attacks is Psychotherapy. In this case, people undergo sessions where the main purpose is to decrease irrational thoughts and behaviors which are prevalent during an episode. Behavioral techniques are also used to deal with the symptoms associated with an attack such as difficulty in breathing, light-headedness, phobia, and such. Therapy is considered as one of the natural remedies for panic attacks because it involves methods that helps people to face the trigger of their panic. As most problems, knowing the main source would help in finding out the best solution that could be implemented in order to resolve their panic and anxiety.

If a person opts to undergo therapy, they should have the willingness to participate during these sessions because if a person is not willing to face such scrutiny and probing then the therapy would not be effective to the person. There is also the option to take medical help or drugs to alleviate the occurrence of these attacks. Such medication includes elective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI) and the benzodiazepine families of medications which are approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat panic disorder.

I recommend taking these drugs as a last resort because there is still a possibility that you could be addicted to such drugs in order to bring relief. The safest way as far as I am concern is the natural way which is therapy.

Most would say that you would not be able to understand people who suffer from panic attacks until you, yourself, experience it. But it is just really getting the right information about the anxiety and symptoms that can help you clearly understand it and relate better to the people who experience anxiety attacks.

Panic attack is a psychological disorder that can be simply defined as an abrupt and intense feeling of apprehension and fear for a certain period of time with the symptoms lasting from a mere 15 seconds to approximately 30 minutes. It is not genetic in nature but more of a mental and physical type of interaction that results from post traumatic stress that usually comes when a tragic, confusing or distressing event has occurred in one’s life. There is no definitive pattern that can be seen until the symptoms are already present. There are no warning signs to look out for. The anxiety attack just suddenly happens and you find yourself caught in a kind of nightmare that you think you can not wake up from.

Feelings of anxiety and symptoms such as palpitations, difficulty in breathing, profuse perspiration, coldness in the extremities or headaches and the like may be experienced but the cause cannot really be explained. Most would describe the feeling much like having a heart attack when they experience a panic attack. During this period the person may either cower in fear or strike for a fight because of the perceived danger that one feels during the attack while some experience a feeling of helplessness or weakness. The symptoms are at times triggered because they anticipate the panic attack itself or because of the fear that one feels in having an attack.

Not all who suffer from panic attacks have the same level of anxiety and symptoms. The duration of the attack also varies with individuals and some may experience limited symptoms while others may have a full blown attack. There is also a difference on the coping mechanism each individual has in dealing with the disorder. Some would just cringe in fear until the attack subsides while others repeatedly do some routines to calm themselves thus reducing the symptoms.

Panic cure may vary from psychotherapy to medication while others opt for some relaxing techniques. Depending on the severity of the symptoms the patient experiences, the approach to treating the attack varies. Behavioral therapy is a form of treatment where the patient is subjected to symptoms but is persuaded to look clearly and positively to the symptoms for what it is basically and that there is simply nothing to be afraid of. There are made aware of the symptoms and that they can learn to handle the situation.

One has to believe that the anxiety and symptoms can be overcome and that there are various ways to deal with it. But it all comes down to the realization and acceptance of the disorder by the person suffering from it and seek professional help for the panic cure to be successful.