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Panic attacks are intense episodes of fear that often
occur out of the blue and will peak within ten minutes
and often even quicker. They take place when the body’s
built-in alarm system gets activated and your body
gets ready to fight or run for your life through a
survival mechanism called the ‘Fight or Flight’ response.
When this alarm system gets triggered you are likely
to experience a series of physical and cognitive symptoms
which can be overwhelming.
A Panic Attack is diagnosed when four or more of the
following symptoms appear together. These symptoms
include:
- Shortness of breath or smothering sensations
- Dizziness, unsteady feelings, or faintness
- Palpitations or accelerated heart rate
- Trembling or shaking
- Sweating
- Choking
- Nausea or abdominal distress
- Depersonalization- feeling that your own body is
unreal- or derealization- feeling that your environment
is not real
- Numbness or tingling sensations in one or more
parts of your body
- Hot flashes or chills
- Chest pain or discomfort
- Fear of dying
- Fear of going crazy or losing self- control
- Feeling a need to escape
- Having a feeling of imminent doom or danger
What is panic disorder?
Panic disorder is a disorder that people experience
when, after their first ‘out of the blue’ panic
attack, they begin to have periods of worrying about
having other and/or repeated attacks. As well, they
begin to have concerns about what the panic attacks
could do to them (fearing they will die, or lose control).
As a result, they will experience significant changes
in their behaviour due to the attacks (e.g. starting
to avoid things that might make them anxious)
Some people have panic attacks but never develop Panic
Disorder. Others, however, have many attacks. There
are many different explanations for this including
a combination of genetic predisposition, childhood
experiences and later life challenges faced by the
individual.
Agoraphobia
Often when people have Panic Attacks, the episodes
are so overwhelming that they will do anything that
they can to avoid having the experience again. This
avoidance behaviour is called Agoraphobia. People often
think agoraphobia means fear of crowds or open spaces
but it is actually a fear of having a panic attack
in a situation where you feel you won’t be able
to escape.
It is easy to see how this avoidance cycle can develop.
For instance, if a person has a panic attack at a grocery
store then they might be fearful of going shopping
again. If they have another panic attack at the grocery
store then they might simply avoid going grocery shopping
in the future. Instead they may start ordering their
food via the internet or they may avoid going to the
grocery store during crowded times of the day. If another
person has a panic attack in their car, then they might
start avoiding driving and start taking the bus instead.
These are all understandable attempts at solutions
to avoid having a panic attack because the experiences
can be so overwhelming and frightening. However, over
time, these avoidance behaviours can become very limiting
and have a detrimental impact on your self-esteem,
your relationships, your job or your general happiness
in life.
If you think you may have Panic Disorder with or without
agoraphobia, speak to your family physician, psychologist
or psychiatrist.
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