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Panic Attacks Panic attacks are a type of anxiety disorder. They can be characterized with sudden overwhelming feelings of intense fear, discomfort or anxiety, accompanied with the thoughts of coming danger and doom. Such episodes may happen frequently or rarely and last from some minutes up to hours. As a rule, the reasons and causes of such attacks are not obvious.
Medical specialists recognize three types of panic attacks: situational, when an individual has sudden attacks of fear always in definite circumstances and surrounding, for example, when entering a corridor or a tunnel; unexpected, when panic attacks take place absolutely suddenly and without any evident reasons, and predisposed, when the situation is likely to cause panic attack, but an individual does not suffer it always in such a situation. The majority of panic attacks are unexpected and unpredictable as to surrounding and time. Mental disorder of panic attacks is interesting and important to be studied and analyzed, because a lot of people have to go through it. Up to % 10 of American population suffer sudden panic attacks of different intensity and number of repetitions, and about % 2 - 3 of people of the country need serious medical treatment for this disorder. Annually about 2. 5 million adult Americans experience regular panic attacks. In serious cases panic disorder is very disabling and it can fatally disrupt the life: bring to hard depressions, suicidal mood, damage of health, alcohol dependence and other critical mental problems.
That is why it is essential to know more about such anxiety disorders. Panic attacks are accompanied with the following physical symptoms: sweating, shaking, trembling, intensive heart-beat, shortness of breath, pain and discomfort in chest, nausea, dry mouth, changing of color of the skin, changes of body temperature, etc. Also, there is a range of psychological syndromes, like dizziness, unsteadiness, de realization, depersonalization, feeling of dread and fear, feeling like fainting, feeling of choking, feeling of upset stomach, feeling of dying or going crazy, etc. Usually more than 4 such symptoms are evident during panic attack, but frequently an individual is so much frightened and disabled, that it is impossible for him / her to explain clearly, what is happening.
The most probable causes of panic attacks are biological transformations and changes in our organism, which happen because of stresses and anxiety. Besides, specialists classify the heredity as an important point of receiving such a disorder, so if somebody in the family suffers panic attacks, risk for younger generations is very high. But, actually, panic attacks are more likely to be behavioral illness, which can be taken as minds and bodys natural response to feeling danger or to life-intimidating circumstances. Panic disorder is one of the most spread results of constant worry, depression or influence of definite biochemical factors.
There are two different ways of treatment can be offered for those, who suffers panic attacks. First is medical treatment. A doctor examines physical and mental conditions of an individual during an attack and prescribes correspondent medicines, prevalently antidepressants, like sertraline or fluoxetine, or other drugs, which can support the work of heart or normalize blood pressure. Besides, doctors may offer a course of recovering behavioral therapy, where experienced psychiatrists will help to understand the problem and suggest the means of avoiding of critical situations, bringing to panic attacks. The other way of treatment is home-care. There is number of relaxation programs and techniques, which may be adopted by an individual to get rid of frequent feelings of fear and panic.
Such treatment includes some relaxing exercises, which can be done at home every day. The duration of such healing course depends on the specific psychological abilities of an individual and the severity of disorder. Panic attacks can be very frightening and scary, but fortunately they can not bring physical harm. But if panic attacks are frequent and strong, it is better to consult a doctor, in order to avoid more dangerous mental disorders, like agoraphobia, or other phobias.
Bibliography: "Panic Attacks. " eMedicine Consumers Health. July 13, 2004. eMedicine Incorporated. Nov 30, 2004 < web >. "Panic Attacks. " Mayo Clinic. By Mayo Clinic Staff.
June 9, 2004. Mayo Foundation for Medical education and Research. Nov 30, 2004 < web >. Saunders, J. "Panic Attack Symptoms. " The Linden Method. Linden, Ch.
The Linden Center. Nov 30, 2004 < web >.
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