There is an English adage which says, “sorrow is better than fear, because while fear is a journey, sorrow is at least an arrival.”
There are certain situations or circumstances in life in which you will pray for the worst to have, and relieve your mental agony, instead of suspended psychological torture in perpetuity.
Research has been trying to establish whether, anxiety, fear and nervousness have any correlation. Whether the three in conjunction manifest as panic attacks. We know that panic is acute and extreme anxiety, with accompanying physiologic symptoms.
As mentioned earlier fear and anxiety are suspended psychological journeys that could take its toll on physical manifest station, which was why medical practitioners are interested in definite and immediate diagnoses instead of Jerry meandering and narrative speculations on what would be.
In Gregory University, Uturu, most of the students – scholars as they are called here -are rushed to the hospital regularly during examinations with panic attacks. After stabilisation, most of them would want to know why they develop panic attacks, when examinations are near, and how to prevent panic attacks.
I will usually tell them that to prevent panic attacks, you have to read, read, and read. They will interject, “but Doctor I am reading, still when examination comes I will still panic.”
I am actually writing this because of my students. A panic attack causes sudden temporary feelings of fear and strong physical reactions in response to ordinary, non-threatening situations. When you have panic attacks, you may sweat a lot, have difficulty breathing, and feel like your heart is racing. It may feel like you are having a heart attack.
Panic attack may occur in any situation, usually in response to a specific situation tied to the main characteristic of the disorder. For example a person with phobia for snakes may panic when encountering a snake.
However, these situational panics differ from the spontaneous unprovoked ones that define a person’s problem as panic disorder.
Panic attacks are common, occurring in more than in a third of adults each year. Women are two to three times more likely than men to have panic attacks.
Panic disorder is uncommon and is diagnosed in slightly, less than one percent of the population. Panic disorder usually begins in late adolescence and early adulthood.
Panic attacks could happen alongside other conditions, such as anxiety disorder, mood disorder, phobias, psychotic disorders, substance use disorder, trauma and stressor-related disorders and certain medical conditions.
While panic attacks by themselves are not dangerous or harmful to your health, frequent attacks can lead to a decrease in your quality of life and other issues.
The symptoms of panic attacks among others may include at least 4 of the following.
Shortness of breath or sense of being smothered.
Dizziness, unsteadiness or faintness
Trembling or shaking
Sweating
Choking
Nausea, stomach ache or diarrhoea
Feeling of unreality, strangeness or detachment from the environment.
Numbness or tingling sensations.
Flushing or chills
Chest pain or discomfort
Fear of dying
Fear of going crazy or losing control.
These symptoms, will peak within 10 minutes and usually dissipate within 20 minutes, leaving little for a doctor to observe, except the persons fear of another terrifying attack.
Since panic attacks are often unexpected or occur for no apparent reason, people who have them frequently, anticipate and worry about another attack – a condition called anticipatory anxiety, and avoid places where they have previously panicked.
This avoidance of places, is called agoraphobia. If agoraphobia is severe enough, a person may become house bound. Because symptoms of a panic attack involve many vital organs, people, often worry that they have a dangerous medical problem, involving the heart, lungs or brain and seek help from a doctor or hospital emergency department although panic attacks are uncomfortable at times extremely so-they are not dangerous.
Experts don’t know exactly why some people experience panic attacks or develop panic disorder. Your brain and nervous system play key roles on how you perceive and handle fear and anxiety.
Researchers think that dysfunction of your “amygdale” – the part of your brain that processes fear and other emotions – may be at the root of these conditions.
They also think chemical imbalance in gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), cortical and serotonin may play a large role.
Your risk of having a panic disorder increases if you have a family history of anxiety disorder and panic attacks, these often run in families. You have a 40% increased risk of developing panic disorder, if one of your first degree relatives (biological siblings children or parents) has the condition.
People who have anxiety disorders, depression or other mental health conditions are more prone to panic attacks.
Adverse childhood experience (ACE) are negative experiences that happen between the ages of one and 17. These experiences are traumatic events. ACEs can contribute to the development of panic attacks and panic disorder. There is often no specific trigger for panic attacks. But people who have a phobia can experience phobia-related triggers that lead to a panic attack. For example, someone with trypanophobia (intense fear of needles), may experience a panic attack, if they have to get their blood drawn for a medical test.
For some people the fear of having a panic attack is often enough to trigger one. It is important to note that one of the criteria for panic disorder is that the panic attacks do not have a known trigger.
Most people recover from panic attacks without treatment. A few develop panic disorder. Recovery without treatment is possible even for those who have recurring panic attacks or anticipatory anxiety, particularly if they are repeatedly exposed to the provocative stimulus or situation. People who do not recover on their own or who don’t seek treatment continue to have panic attacks off and on indifferently.
People respond better to treatment when they understand that panic disorder involves both biologic and psychologic processes. Drugs and behavioural therapy can generally control the symptoms. In addition, psychotherapy may help resolve any psychologic conflicts, that may underlie the anxious feelings and behaviour.
Drugs that are used to treat panic disorder include anti-depressants and anti-anxiety drugs such as benzodiazepines. All types of anti-depressants – tricyclics (such as imipramine), monoamine oxidase inhibitors (such as phenelzines), and selective serotonin re-uptake inhibition (SSRIS, such as fluoxetine) have proved effective.
When a drug is effective. It prevents or greatly reduces the number of panic attacks. A drug may have to be taken for long periods of time if panic attacks return, once the drug is stopped.
Exposure therapy, a type of behaviour therapy in which the person is exposed repeatedly to whatever triggers panic attacks often helps to diminish the fear.
Exposure therapy is practiced until the person develops a high level of comfort with the anxiety provoking situation. In addition, people who are afraid they will faint during a panic attack can practice an exercise in which they spin a chair or breathe quickly (hyperventilate) until they feel faint. This exercise teaches them that they won’t actually faint during a panic attack.
Psychotherapy with a view to gaining insight and better understanding of any underlying psychologic conflict may also be useful.
Always he medically guided.
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