Panic Attacks – Causes, Treatment & Prevention

Many people have been afflicted by a panic attack or panic disorder. The symptoms often come suddenly and usually only last a few minutes. Typical of a panic attack is the fear of suddenly losing control (“I’m going crazy…”) or even of dying. When this happens, sufferers often feel like they might suddenly faint (“just pass out”) or have a heart attack .

During a panic disorder, people use their own body’s alarm mechanisms, which are only activated in the event of danger. The panic is further intensified by an increased adrenaline release.

causes

Panic attacks can have a variety of causes. A personal conflict situation that seems hopeless to those affected is often the cause of panic attacks. Death or serious illnesses, but also social rejection such as an unexpected separation, can be such conflict situations.Now, not every person exposed to such situations is afflicted with panic attacks. Those affected have a low stimulus threshold and a high level of anxiety. Their reaction to conflicts is therefore often amplified and sometimes inappropriate, as it is subject to subjective reinforcement.

In addition to such characteristics, which are based on the character and personality of the person affected, physical causes can also be responsible for panic attacks. In some people, for example, hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism , liver disease or mineral deficiency are the causes of panic attacks.

Stopping medication that causes a sudden change in mood or physical condition can also cause panic attacks. In addition, panic attacks are often a side effect of other mental illnesses such as depression .

When to the doctor?

As soon as the first panic attack occurs, it is advisable to consult a doctor. It is very likely that panic attacks will occur repeatedly over the course of the disease and that the intervals between the individual attacks will become shorter. Often it is a long process until the cause of the attack is found. In many cases there are even several reasons that need to be addressed. It is therefore advisable to always consult a doctor as soon as the first signs of a panic attack appear. They include dizziness, impaired consciousness , sweating or shortness of breath. Even if the symptoms only last for a few minutes, the risk that they will increase without treatment is very high.

The harbingers of a panic attack include trouble sleeping , severe restlessness, and increased anxiety levels. It is advisable to consult a doctor even at these signs. If the panic attacks occur at long intervals, a doctor’s visit is also necessary. If the triggers have not been determined, the usual distances can change at any time.

Spontaneously occurring panic attacks, which occur without an apparent cause, indicate severe psychological experiences that have not been processed. Normally, there are other symptoms, such as a reduced level of performance and a feeling of being overwhelmed if no doctor is consulted.

symptoms and course

The subjective feeling of those affected can range up to the fatal threat of such panic attacks and also manifest themselves in physical symptoms. Typical symptoms include:

• high blood pressure

• sweats

• shortness of breath

• Breast tongue

• lump in the throat

• shortness of breath

• tachycardia

• dizziness

• balance disorders

• Hyperventilation

The feelings associated with panic attacks, such as powerlessness or the fear of losing control, are particularly threatening. For this reason, those affected are often filled with a fear of panic attacks (the fear of fear).

This causes them to avoid situations and locations that they associate with having panic attacks. Panic attacks pass after a while, usually lasting less than an hour.

Diagnose

A physical exam is the starting point for diagnosing panic disorder. They rule out physical causes such as heart disease, hyperthyroidism, or asthma , which can cause symptoms similar to panic disorder. Which examinations are carried out is decided on a case-by-case basis, including ECG , blood tests or neurological examinations.

If these examinations remain without findings, a psychologist will try to find out the cause of the recurring panic attacks. This analysis is also used to identify other mental illnesses such as depression or phobias. If such diseases are present, the panic disorder is in many cases a side effect, so the treatment will focus on the main disease.

The diagnosis is made in conversations and with the help of questionnaires that are queried by the doctor or filled out by the patient himself. A specific situation in which the sufferer was exposed to great stress is often the first trigger of panic disorder. The analysis of the trigger, the frequency and the accompanying circumstances of the panic attacks helps to select the right therapy.

complications

Panic is one of the most primal and strongest human emotions. With mental disorders , and less often with physical illnesses, panic can arise when there is no objective reason for it. Panic attacks are highly problematic because panic is designed to enable a person to either flee or defend themselves with as much strength as possible. The first panic attack is often the worst, because those affected do not yet know what is happening to them and that they are not in danger. But they can put themselves and others in danger all the more quickly if they react to the strong panic that arises.

If you know how to deal with your panic attacks and what to do about them, you are already less dangerous. You can withdraw in time and know what will help to calm down again. Complications from panic attacks continue to occur in association with other medical conditions. Although the panic is objectively unfounded, it is the same physical reaction as if the person were actually exposed to a threat. High levels of stress hormones are released, blood pressure rises and the heart rate rises as well. If the person cannot cope with such a stress reaction of the body due to another existing illness, this could make this illness worse or the symptoms of panic attacks may be perceived as even worse.

treatment and therapy

Panic attacks are usually treated using behavioral therapy methods. Confrontation therapy is a frequently used behavioral therapy measure to treat panic attacks.

In exposure therapy, the patient is intentionally placed in a situation that is associated with the onset of panic. Being in control prevents them from escaping the fearful moment, so they have to endure the fear. Those affected can gradually learn that their fears are unfounded.

The consequences that they expect in their fear are clearly not happening. This confrontational process takes place with the support of a psychologist or therapist. The feelings experienced during the confrontation are analyzed and processed in detail with its help.

The physical symptoms associated with panic attacks are also taken into account as part of the treatment, in that the affected person learns to control them independently through concentration and relaxation techniques.

Confrontation therapy increases the stimulus threshold and the self-confidence of the person concerned. Over time, this will enable him not to react to conflict situations with panic attacks.

prevention

There is no prevention of panic attacks in the sense of real medical prophylaxis. Based on the treatment of panic attacks, the person affected can learn to deal with the anxiety.Intellectual processing and the understanding that the fear is objectively unfounded is essential here.

To recognize this, it is helpful not to avoid the situations that trigger panic attacks, but to face them.

Success can be increased by learning breathing techniques and conscious body relaxation, so that the panic attacks become bearable or disappear completely.