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Panic disorder is a mental illness where people experience frequent, unprovoked panic attacks. People generally believe that they are having a heart attack or stroke, losing their mind, or on the verge of death. Attacks can occur anytime, even during non-dream sleep. While most attacks average a couple of minutes, occasionally they can go up to 10 minutes. In rare cases, they may last an hour.
People who have these panic attacks may see some or all of the following symptoms: Fear of losing control or doing something embarrassing Panic disorder affects between 3 and 6 million Americans that's about 1 - 2 % of the US population, and it is twice as common in women than in men. It could happen at any age but it is mainly found in young adults (late teens to early to mid twenties). Roughly half of the people who have panic disorder will develop it before the age 24. Fortunately, through research supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), effective treatments have been developed to help people with panic disorder. The exact cause of panic disorder is not known. Possible causes of the illness could include heredity, other biological factors, stressful life events, and overreacting to normal bodily sensations.
The illness usually creates phobias for the person. If he / she has a panic attack in a certain place they may not go back to that place in fear of the attack coming back. For example, if a person had an attack in an elevator they may develop a fear of elevators and perhaps start avoiding them. Some people's lives become greatly restricted, they start to avoid normal everyday activities like grocery shopping, driving, and even in some cases leaving the house.
Basically, people with the condition tend to avoid a situation they fear would make them feel helpless if a panic attack occurs. When people's lives become so restricted by the disorder, which happens in about one-third of all people with panic disorder, the disorder is called Agoraphobia. Agoraphobia is an inability to go beyond known and safe surroundings because of intense fear and anxiety. Typically, people with agoraphobia fear being in crowds, standing in line, entering shopping malls, and riding in cars public transportation. Often, these people restrict themselves to a "safe zone" that may include only the home or the neighborhood they live in. Sometimes people with agoraphobia are unable to leave home alone, but can leave if with a certain family member or a friend that they trust.
Even when people with this condition restrict themselves to their "safe zone" they still have panic attacks a few times a month. People with agoraphobia can be seriously disabled by their condition. Some cannot work and have to rely on family members to do shopping and other household errands. A person with this condition lives a life of extreme dependency and great discomfort.
Early treatment of panic disorder can often stop the progression to agoraphobia. Treatment can bring significant relief to 70 to 90 percent of people with panic disorder, and early treatment can help keep the disease from progressing to later stages where agoraphobia develops. The diagnosis of panic disorder is frequently not made until extensive and costly medical procedures fail to provide a correct diagnosis or relief. Doctors give a thorough examination before one undergoes treatment for panic disorders. This is necessary because there are many other conditions that can cause symptoms that are similar to those of panic disorder. One type of treatment is Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy.
In this type of treatment a patient will meet with a therapist for about 1 - 3 hours a week. The therapist tries to teach the patient how to view the panic situations differently and demonstrate ways to reduce anxiety, using breathing exercises to refocus attention. Another part of this treatment is called exposure therapy, which helps alleviate the phobias that may result from panic disorder. People are slowly exposed to the fearful situation until they become desensitized from it. Another type of treatment is the use of certain prescription medications. Two types of prescription medications that have been shown to be safe and effective in the treatment of panic disorder are antidepressants and benzodiazepines.
Significant improvement is usually seen within 6 to 8 weeks. Relapses may occur, but they can often be effectively treated just like the initial episode. Many people suffer from this mental illness, it could be disabling and in some cases life threatening. Thankfully we have the knowledge and treatment available so the condition doesn't get to those stages. "It started 10 years ago. I was sitting in a seminar in a hotel and this thing came out of the clear blue.
I thought 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 impending doom"In between attacks there is this dread and anxiety that it's going to happen again.
It can be very debilitating, trying to escape those feelings of panic" Bibliography: Works Cited Page 1. "Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia" 1999 Anxiety Disorders of America (ADAA), Rockville, Maryland 2. National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH) web 3. Mind-Body Queendom web gen. html
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Research essay sample on Type Of Treatment Panic Disorder
