FAQ's About Panic Attack Symptoms

Panic attacks are far more common than most people realize, and can be extremely frightening to the person who is experiencing one.  Quite often they may even believe they are having a heart attack and will possible die.  So it is really important that we learn to recognize panic attack symptoms, not only for our own sake, but so we can recognize and help other people.

 

What are the Main Panic Attack Symptoms?

The most common symptoms of a panic attack may include a racing heart, palpitations, feeling lightheaded or that you are about to faint, tightness in the chest, hot and/or cold flushes, sweatiness, nausea and sometimes pins and needles or tingling in your fingers.  The overall affect is that you are completely out of control as an intense feeling of fear takes hold of your mind and body.

 

Why Me? And How will they affect me?

While it’s not really known exactly what panic attacks are, it is recognized that they can be genetic, but they can also be brought on in times of extreme and prolonged stress. They generally happen out of the blue, with no warning. You could be at home making dinner for the family, on the way to work, out shopping – they do not discriminate.  One of the real problems is that once you have had one panic attack, especially if you were among strangers, you will then be continually wondering if and when this is going to happen again.  And the stress this causes can actually lead you to have other attacks.  This is known as  the “loop of anxiety”.

If this anxiety disorder is not treated, it can completely destroy your lifestyle, with the panic attacks getting more frequent, and possibly leading to phobias such as agoraphobia.  So it is important to learn to recognize these panic attack symptoms in order to get help as soon as possible.

 

Can I Be Cured?

The short answer is, in most cases, yes.  But the important thing to do is talk to your doctor, who will probably prescribe some sort of medication to help you in the first instance.  The problem (as I see it anyway) with medication is that, apart from the side effects you may experience,  you have to keep taking it – as soon as you stop, the symptoms will come back again.  Which means that you are only treating the symptoms and not curing the disorder.

 

The doctor may also send you to a therapist, and there is a treatment called Cognitive Behavior Therapy which focuses on helping you to identify and confront the negative thoughts and behavior which are controlling you and leading to the anxiety and panic attacks. CBT is getting some very good results, however, they can take 10-20 sessions to take effect.

 

Depending on how advanced your anxiety disorder is, you can certainly implement some simple remedies yourself – things like taking time out for yourself each day to do something pleasurable, getting a good night’s sleep, regular exercise and getting a pet can all help if your condition is not too advanced.

 

For more in-depth help, there are several extremely good courses available on the internet which you can implement in the privacy of your home.  Some of these have had excellent results and I have reviewed some of them on my website.